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THE 
COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 



iHacmiUan's Pocket ^mn*ican anti ISnglisf) Classics. 



A Series of English Texts, edited for use in Secondary Schools, 
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Addison's Sir Roger de Coverley. 

Browning's Shorter Poems. 

Browning, Mrs., Poems (Selected). 

Burke's Speech on Conciliation. 

Byron.'s Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. 

Byron's Shorter Poems. 

Carlyle's Essay on Burns. 

Chaucer's Prologue and Knight's Tale. 

Coleridge's The Ancient Mariner. 

Cooper's The Deerslayer. 

Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans. 

De Quincey's Confessions of an 
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Dryden's Palamon and Arcite. 

Early American Orations, 1760-1824. 

Edwards' (Jonathan) Sermons. 

Eliot's Silas Marner. 

Epoch-making Papers in U. S. History, 

Franklin's Autobiography. 

Goldsmith's The Vicar of Wakefield. 

Hawthorne's Twice-told Tales (Selec- 
tions from). 

Irving's Life of Goldsmith. 

Irving's The Alhambra. 

Irving's Sketch Book. 

Longfellow's Evangeline. 

Lowell's The Vision of Sir Launfal. 

Macaulay's Essay on Addison. 

Macaulay's Essay on Hastings. 

Macaulay's Essay on Lord Clive, 

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OTHERS TO FOLLOW. 



THE COURTSHIP OF 
MILES STANDISH 

BY 
HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW 

EDITED, WITH N«')TE^ 
BY 

HOMER p. LEWIS 



'Nz'03 fork 
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

LONDON : MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd. 

1904 

All rights reserved 



JUB^^RVI^ OONeRFSS 

I OCT 12 1904 
i -looyilyht Entrv 

CLASS (K XXc. No. 

^ COPY B 



Copyright, 1904, 
By THEoMACMILLAN COMPANY. 



Set up and electrotyped. Published October, 1904. 



NorhJooU 5P«ss 

J. S. Gushing & Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 

Korwood, Mass., U.S.A. 



It. CONTENTS 

• PAGE 

^Introduction j^ 



I. Miles Standish 2 

II. Love and Friendship . . . . , .11 

III. The Lover's Errand 19 

IV. John Alden 30 

V. The Sailing of the Mayflower .... 46 

VI. Priscilla 59 

VIL The March of Miles Standish .... 67 

VIII. The Spinning-wheel 77 

IX. The Wedding-DAT 87 



TU 



INTRODUCTION 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the foremost 
of American poets, was born at Portland, Maine, on Feb- 
ruary 27, 1807. The English ancestor of the family, 
William Longfellow, came to this country in 1678, and 
settled at Newbury. His son was the " Village Black- 
smith" of the day, and married the daughter of a 
clergyman in Marshfield. Their son became a school- 
master, and a clerk of the court. Then followed a 
judge, whose son, Stephen, was Longfellow's father. 
He was a lawyer and a United States representative. 
He married a daughter of General Peleg Wadsworth, 
who was a prominent officer in the Revolutionary War. 
Their son, Henry Wadsworth, crowned the line as a 
poet. 

The boy was a bright student and entered Bowdoin 
College by the time he was fourteen. He was studi- 
ous and delighted in miscellaneous reading, es^oecially 
in tales of Indian life, a taste that may have been 
fostered by the fact that his college was situated in a 
locality still full of Indian haunts and legends. He 
had at Bowdoin, in Nathaniel Hawthorne, a class- 
mate whose fame equals his own. 



X INTRODUCTION 

Graduating at the age of eighteen, Longfellow 
entered his father's office, intending to follow the law, 
but soon received the offer of a professorship in modern 
languages in his own college, work for which he was 
much better fitted. In order to qualify for it more per- 
fectly, he spent the next three years and a half in travel- 
ling in France, Italy, Germany, Holland, and England. 

Taking up his work at Bowdoin, he remained there 
six years, marrying in 1831, and in 1833 publishing a 
small volume of poetry, the fruit of his trip abroad. 
This was made up mainly of translations from the 
Spanish and the French, with part of a work called 
"Outre-Mer," which he completed in the next few 
years. In 1835 he was chosen professor of modern 
languages andbelles-lettres at Harvard, and paid another 
visit to Europe for further preparation. 

Returning after fifteen months of travel, he became 
a resident of Cambridge, Massachusetts. His next 
volume of poetry, " The Voices of the Night," in which 
appeared, among others, the famous " Psalm of Life," 
had an immense popularity. This was followed by 
" Ballads and other Poems," containing " The Wreck 
of the Hesperus," " Excelsior," " The Village Black- 
smith," and others. Soon after came his " Poems on 
Slavery," followed in a year or two b}^ two thin vol- 
umes, in which were included such favorites as " The 
Day is Done," " The Belfry of Bruges," and " The 
Old Clock on the Stairs." 



INTRODUCTION XI 

About 1843 he fixed his residence in the Craigie 
House at Cambridge, celebrated for having been the 
headquarters of Washington when he took command 
of the Army of the United States in 1776. Here he 
continued to reside until his death. In 1847 he 
published "Evangeline," the greatest of his works, 
the story of which was drawn from a pathetic inci- 
dent which occurred during the expulsion of the 
French from Nova Scotia by the British. 

In 1849 Longfellow published " The Seaside and 
the Fireside," following it soon after with the " Golden 
Legend," which is considered, next to " Evangeline," 
his greatest work. In 1854 he resigned his college- 
work, but did not cease to write. "Hiawatha," his 
noted Indian story, appeared in 1855, and " The Court- 
ship of Miles Standish " three years later. This latter 
poem it was particularly fitting for Longfellow to 
write, as his mother was a descendant of " Priscilla, the 
Puritan Maiden," and the poem is founded upon a 
pleasing incident which was doubtless a well known 
tradition in his family history. 

In 1867 he brought out his scholarly translation of 
the " Divina Commedia " of Dante. 

In 1880 his health showed signs of failing, and two 
years later he died, amid universal regret. 



xii INTRODUCTION 



THE PILGRIMS 

The Pilgrims belonged to those people in England 
who, very soon after the Reformation, wished still 
further to simplify and purify the ritual of the Church 
of England. From this fact they were called Puri- 
tans. They claimed not to differ from the Church in 
their creed but only in the observances by which the 
creed was expressed. After a time, however, even 
this difference began to draw upon them persecution. 
They hoped that they would be permitted to withdraw 
from the Church and hold services of their own, and 
succeeded in organizing two congregations in the 
northern part of England where the counties of Lin- 
coln, ISTottingham, and York come together. But by 
orders of the government, these gatherings were con- 
stantly interrupted and scattered and the leaders im- 
prisoned. 

Discouraged by this harsh treatment, they began to 
think of leaving the country, and turned their eyes 
toward Holland. To be sure, America had been 
discovered a full century before this, but as yet no 
permanent English settlement was made there. More- 
over, the Spaniards, who were the deadly enemies of 
the English on account of religion and for other rea- 
sons, held the southern part of it, the only part then 
thought to be at all desirable or even possible for 



INTRODUCTION xiii 

settlement. The rest of it was supposed to be not only 
bleak and nniuhabitable for Europeans, but teeming 
with hostile tribes of savages. Besides, the perils of 
crossing so tremendous a sea as the Atlantic appalled 
the ordinary citizen. But Holland was close by, and 
thus it was to Holland they looked for refuge. 

The reformed religion had been introduced into 
Holland in 1573, and since that time the utmost reli- 
gious freedom was permitted. Every sect was toler- 
ated, and an asylum was opened there for fugitives 
from persecution of all sorts. Amsterdam, then one 
of the greatest cities of Europe, was called " a com- 
mon harbor of all opinions, of all heresies." Books 
and pamphlets could be printed in Amsterdam which 
were not allowed in England or elsewhere. Men pur- 
sued for any reason by the governments of their own 
countries could live in peace in Holland. Accordingly, 
these persecuted Puritans decided to flee to Holland. 

They tried to keep their design very secret, for they 
knew that if the government heard of it, they would 
not be allowed to go. It was a difficult position in 
which they found themselves. King James I, who 
was then on the throne, declared he would " make 
them conform or he would harry them out of the 
land." Yet if they tried to go out of the land, 
his government did everything in its power to 
prevent them. Their first attempt to get away in 
1607, was discovered and frustrated. Nevertheless, in 



xiv INTRODUCTION 

the next year or two, they managed to slip away and 
gather in Amsterdam, where they proceeded to organ- 
ize a church. However, things proved unsatisfactory 
there, and at the end of a year they moved again, this 
time to Leyden, which was not far away. Here they 
settled down and remained twelve years, winning 
golden opinions from the Dutch government for 
their industry and their peaceful lives. 

These English Puritans were mainly of the respect- 
able middle class, farmers and handicraftsmen. Ley- 
den was a great woollen-manufacturing centre, and in 
the course of their stay there, they all became more or 
less expert in the different branches of that trade, that 
is, in spinniug, weaving, carding, etc. Also in carpen- 
tering, rope-making, and many other kinds of work that 
is done with the hands. Here, too, they were joined 
by fugitive Protestants from France, called Huguenots. 
These people were famous for their ability in silk- 
weaving. Dutch weavers also became part of their 
company. It was probably owing in large part to 
their skill in these trades that they were enabled to 
found later a successful colony in America. To open 
a new country you must have workers, people who 
know how to do things. 

After a time it became evident to the leaders among 
these Puritans that their little band would have to 
move again. They saw that it was hard for their 
people to make a living in Holland, and moreover, they 



INTRODUCTION XV 

were in danger of losing their nationality. They could 
foresee that when their children grew up, they would 
very likely marry among the Dutch, probably learn to 
speak the Dutch language and drop their own, and in 
time be wholly absorbed into the Dutch nation. Then, 
too, in religious matters, outside habits and customs, 
with regard to the observance of the Sabbath, for 
instance, were sure to creep in. So if they wished 
to preserve both their religion and their nationality, 
although the Dutch were the best people they could 
settle among for the purpose, still it would be better 
to settle in a country without other inhabitants. 

Moreover, they had been hearing better things of 
America. In the very year of their escape to Holland, 
the first permanent English colony had been settled at 
Jamestown, Virginia. And while they did not wish 
to get very near this colony on account of their reli- 
gion, still if they went to America now, it would be a 
comfort to know that they were not the only English 
people living on that side of the world. Then, too, 
Henry Hudson had made his famous voyage up the 
Hudson Eiver and had brought back a glowing account 
of it. And they began to think that they might settle 
there, and if they did, it would be far enough away 
from Jamestown to suit their purpose. 

So they sent some agents to King James, asking if 
he would let them go to America and settle on the 
land he claimed to own there. They told him that they 



xvi INTROD UCTION 

wished to remain loyal Englishmen, and hinted that in 
time their trade might become valuable to him. The 
king, of course, would have nothing to say officially to 
heretics, but inasmuch as he could no longer have the 
pleasure of harrying these particular heretics in his 
own dominions, they were given to understand pri- 
vately that they might go. And they began with 
mingled joy and sorrow to make their preparations for 
departure. 

In England they had been called Separatists, a 
name against which they protested, saying that they 
had not separated in the least from what the Church 
of England believed, but only from the ceremonies 
which it practised. But as their great objection to it 
was that it was a national church which everybody 
had to support, and as they were really trying to sepa- 
rate the Church from the State, they were obliged in 
the end to submit to bear the name of Separatists. 
But they said that since they had removed from Eng- 
land to Amsterdam to be free to practise their own 
religion, and from Amsterdam to Leyden, and were 
now again about to leave Leyden for America, they 
looked upon their wanderings as a pilgrimage and 
themselves as pilgrims, and thus they would call them- 
selves. 

They hired a small ship in Holland named the 
Speedwell, to convey as many of them as it could ac- 
commodate to America and remain there with them a 



INTRODUCTION' XVll 

year to assist in the coasting trade with the Indians. 
Another, the 3Iayfloiver, was chartered in London, and 
the two ships were to meet at Southampton and pro- 
ceed from there together. But the S'peeclwell proved 
un seaworthy, and they had to put back. Finally all 
of her passengers who could be accommodated were 
taken aboard the Majifioiver, which then sailed alone 
from the English harbor of Plymouth, September 16, 
1620. 

After a slow and wearisome voyage, the Mayjiower 
reached Cape Cod. As they intended to settle about 
Hudson River, they sailed south from here, but find- 
ing themselves among dangerous shoals, they turned 
back and dropped anchor in what is now known as 
Provincetown Harbor, on November 21. 

Before going ashore, they drew up the famous 
" Compact," " combining ourselves together into a civil 
body politic," and immediately chose Mr. John Carver 
as governor. The next day was Sunday, which they 
observed on board the vessel. Monday morning the 
women went ashore to wash and the men to explore. 
The first day or two these explorers saw no Indians, 
but found some buried corn which they dug up and 
took away, intending to pay the owners for it as soon 
as they found out to whom it belonged. A few days 
later, as they were exploring further down the coast, 
they were suddenly attacked by Indians, whom they 
easily beat off. Probably these were the owners of 



XVlll INTRODUCTION 

the corn, who, finding it gone, and not knowing that the 
Pilgrims intended to pay for it, looked upon them as 
marauders, and so attacked them. During the follow- 
ing winter the Pilgrims did discover to whom the 
corn belonged, and paid for it. 

They continued their explorations around Cape Cod, 
and finally entered Plymouth Bay and made a landing. 
This was the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers, Decem- 
ber 21, 1620, and the rock on which they stepped ashore 
is still to be seen at Plymouth. Having brought the 
Mayjioicer around, they immediately set to work build- 
ing their small town, erecting first a common house 
for the accommodation of all until separate houses 
could be built for the different families. They called 
the place Plymouth, partly because it had already been 
called so by Captain John Smith of the Virginia col- 
ony who had explored this coast, and partly because 
Plymouth was the last English town which befriended 
them. 

They occasionally saw Indians at a distance, but 
were quite unmolested for over a year. The reason 
for this they found out later. It seems that three or 
four years before the coming of the Pilgrims, a plague 
had carried off the whole of the tribe which owned the 
land about Plymouth, with the exception of one man. 
So there were none left to feel that the Avhite men 
were taking their land from them. On March 26, 1621, 
a friendly Indian named Samoset came into the settle- 



INTRODUCTION XIX 

ment, who could speak a few words of Englisli which 
he had picked up from English sailors fishing at Mon- 
hegan, off the Maine coast. In a few days he brought 
another Indian. By means of these two, the Pilgrims 
established friendly relations with the great chief 
Massasoit. They were very anxious to do this be- 
cause they lost fully half their number a few months 
after landing. 

One hundred Pilgrims set sail from Plymouth in 
England. One died on the way across the ocean, and 
one was born. Fifty died the first winter, which was 
for them a terrible one, on account of the privation 
and suffering they endured, although the season was 
a mild one for New England. But weakened as they 
were, and half starving, not one offered to return in 
the Mayfloiver, which set out on her voyage back April 
15, 1621. 

In the November following, came the ship Barbara 
from England with more people and more supplies. 
In August, 1623, the Anne and the Little James arrived, 
the latter sent out to stay with the colony. All com- 
ing in these ships are counted in with those who 
came in the Mayjlower, and are called the Pilgrim 
Forefathers.^ 

1 For a fuller account, see Young's " Chronicles of the Pilgrims." 



XX INTRODUCTION 



THE POEM 

" The Courtship of Miles Standish," if intelli- 
gently studied, gives a very good picture of the condi- 
tions under which the settlement of Plymouth was 
begun, and furthermore a very good portrayal of the 
character of the Pilgrim Fathers. But to get this 
clearly in mind, it is necessary that every reference, 
especially those to the Bible, should be followed up. 

After the Keformation was established in England 
and the Puritans began to multiply, they took the 
Bible as the source of their information as to what 
they ought to do and what customs they ought to 
observe. The Old Testament was read as it had never 
been read before. They likened themselves and their 
troubles and their deeds to personages and events of 
the Bible, and phrases and expressions from it were 
used in daily speech. 

Longfellow has perfectly presented this character- 
istic of these particular Puritans, called Pilgrims. 
The poem is full of Biblical references, and as every 
pupil has easy access to a Bible, there can be no 
better time for giving him some acquaintance with a 
book without knowledge of which literature in gen- 
eral cannot be understood. The Pilgrims took the 
Bible to Plymouth with them, intending to draw from 
it all measures of government and conduct. So it 



INTRODUCTION xxi 

appears in the poem, even among the few books of 
Miles Standish, who was not originally a member of 
their church. It appears also on the table at the 
council, when they are discussing the war challenge of 
the Indians. 

In " The Courtship of Miles Standish," Longfellow 
has not presented the historical facts and events exactly 
as they occurred. He has used with them what we 
call poetic license — that is, he has brought them in 
where they best suited the story, whether they took 
place in just that order or not. If he were writing 
history, we should not be willing to have this done. 
But in poetry it is permitted. The action of the tale 
is supposed to take place during the first year of the 
settlement, but in reality the events which are related 
occupied the first four years. For instance, the ex- 
pedition against the Indians on which Miles Standish 
marched away was not undertaken until the third 
year. So, too, the converting of their first fort into 
a church with cannon mounted on its roof was not 
accomplished until later. 

The chief actors in this little love story are- Miles 
Standish, John Alden, and Priseilla Mullins. 

In 1584 Queeix Elizabeth took the part of the 
United Provinces (as Holland was then called), which 
were contending for their independence against Spain. 
She made a league with them, and sent them men 
and money. From that time on, there were always 



XXll INTRODUCTION 

Englisli soldiers lighting in the Dutch armies until 
Holland was free. Among these soldiers was Captain 
Miles Standish. He was originally from Lancashire, 
England, where his family had established two homes, 
Standish Hall and Duxbury Park, owing to religious 
differences in which one branch became Protestant 
while the other remained Catholic. Miles Standish 
was presumed to be of the Protestant branch of Dux- 
bury Park from the fact of his throwing in his lot 
with the Pilgrims, and later naming his estate in the 
New World, Duxbury. He was thought to be heir 
to certain family properties of which he had been 
deprived, and hence to be seeking his fortune in the 
war in Holland. While there, he fell in with the 
Pilgrims, and having taken a great liking to them, 
resolved to join them when they decided to sail for 
America. Although he was not of their church, they 
welcomed him to their ranks, for they felt that they 
would very much need a man of his sort in their new 
settlement. He went in the Mayjlower, accompanied 
by his wife Rose, who died in those first terrible 
months. He had probably reached middle-age. 

John Alden was among those from England who 
joined the Holland Pilgrims at Southampton, and was 
said to be a cooper. He was a much younger man. 
Longfellow calls him a " stripling," and in the poem 
(line 20) he is said to be the youngest man who came 
in the Mayjlower. He was very different from Miles 



INTRODUCTION xxiii 

Standish, being a student, while the other was a sol- 
dier. 

There is reason to think that Priscilla Mullins was of 
Huguenot extraction, her people probably being refu- 
gees in England after the Massacre of St. Bartholo- 
mew in 1572. The name was perhaps anglicized from 
Molines, or possibly Moulins. Lines 269 to 275 imply 
that she was familiar with English life and scenery, 
but she does not speak of Holland. Hence it is clear 
that Longfellow does not place her among the Leyden 
Pilgrims. He hints that there was an acquaintance 
between her and John Alden before they sailed from 
England, and that John Alden followed her over the 
ocean, whither she was accompanied by her father, 
mother, and brother. This is not likely, as in that 
case tjhe attachment between them would have been 
so apparent to the people about them that Miles Stan- 
dish would never have thought of wooing her. John 
Alden formed a close friendship with Miles Standish 
on the voyage over, but it is more than likely that 
the feeling of both men for Priscilla was kindled after 
the founding of Plymouth. The poet has utilized the 
little that is known about her to describe h6r with 
such tender grace that she has served ever since as the 
ideal of New England maidenhood. 

Like "Evangeline," the greatest of Longfellow's 
poems, "The Courtship of Miles Standish" is written 
in dactylic hexameter — the same metre in which are 



XXIV INTRODUCTION 

written the great poems of the world, the " Iliad " 
and the " Odyssey " of Homer, and the " ^neid " of 
Vergil. The line is divided into six feet, and each 
foot, except the last, contains one accented syllable 
followed by two unaccented ones — a syllable in Eng- 
lish meaning any combination of letters pronounced 
with one effort of the voice. The last foot contains 
an accented syllable followed by an unaccented one. 
Such a line is marked in this way : — 

each of these divisions being a foot and the accent fall- 
ing always upon the first syllable of the foot. 

The following line 13 from the poem is an example 
of a perfect line of this sort : — 

Writ-ing with | dil-i-gent | speed at a | ta-ble of | pine by tlie | 

— ^ I 
win-do w. I 

In scanning such a line, that is, in reading it metri- 
cally or according to the metre, it is plain that in words 
of more than one syllable the accent must fall upon 
the syllable on which it would properly fall in prose. 
If it happens otherwise, it is evident that the scan- 
ning is incorrect. But in every poem of this kind, the 
two unaccented syllables may be replaced by a sylla- 
ble having almost the same stress of the voice as the 
accented one. If this were not allowed, such a poem 



INTRODUCTION XXV 

would be very monotonous. But this substitution, 
occurring now in one foot and now in another, gives 
an agreeable variety. As in the following : — 

Yon-der | there on the | hill by the | sea lies | bur-ied Kose | 

\j I 

Stan-dish, | 

J^ '^ \^ \ -^ _ _^ _^ \J KJ 

Beau-ti-ful | Rose of | love that | bloomed for j me by the j 

— — I 
way-side, j 

Scanning is intended to help one to appreciate the 
melody and rhythm of a poem. It has another practi- 
cal use, however. Through the accent in scanning, one 
is often helped in the xDronunciation of a difficult word. 
For instance, in line 9 occurs the word " Arabic," which 
is often mispronounced. By scanning the line thus : — 

^ \j \j \ Z^ WW -^ wwIj^wwI 

Curved at the | point and in- | -scribed with its | mys-ti-cal | 



Ar-a-bic sen-tence, 



the correct pronunciation is easily seen. 

A like service is rendered in the case of the last 
word of line 28, which is an unfamiliar one. By scan- 
ning the line : — 



^ _ ^ w w 
Fired point- -blank at my 


/_ 

heart 


w w 

by a 


W J^ W 

bu- -ce-ro, 







Span-ish | ar-ca- 
one sees at once how to pronounce it. 



XXVI INTRODUCTION 

The pupil should not be allowed to pass over any 
word of even doubtful meaning without looking it up 
in the dictionary. All such words have been pur- 
posely omitted from the notes in order to give the 
pupil this practice with the dictionary. He should 
gain the power to select readily, from several defini- 
tions of a word, the particular one required by the 
text. For instance, in line 303 occurs the word 
"yard." It has three definitions: a measure, a plot 
of ground which is enclosed, and a part of a vessel. 
It is important that he should gain some ease in telling 
quickly which one the sense demands. 

If the pupil has gone far enough in his study of 
rhetoric to distinguish figures, he will find this poem, 
" The Courtship of Miles Standish," a very good one in 
which to apply his knowledge. But the main empha- 
sis can be, it seems to me, most profitably laid upon 
his work with the Bible and the dictionary. When 
he has finished the poem, he ought to have a very fair 
knowledge of how to use both these books, even if he 
has had no previous practice of the kind. 



THE 
COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 



THE COURTSHIP OF MH.ES STANDISH 



MILES STANDISH 

In the Old Colony days, in Plymouth the land of the 

Pilgrims, 
To and fro in a room of his simple and primitive 

dwelling, 

1 Old Colony : this name was applied to Plymouth after the 
settlements were made about Massachusetts Bay in 1628, 1630. 

Pilgrims: look up Hebrews xi. 13. See also the sketch in the 
preface. 

2 The Pilgrims built seven dwelling-houses that first winter be- 
sides three or four houses for the use of the plantation and a plat- 
form on a small bluff, on which they mounted five guns. The houses 
were arranged along a short thoroughfare near the water, called 
Leyden St., from the city in Holland where they had lived. They 
were really log-cabins made of tree-trunks rough-hewn from the 
forest, with the cracks filled in with mud or mortar. The rools 
were of thatch. Thatch roofs are common in England, where they 
are made of wheat or rye straw. But the Pilgrims, having no such 
thing, were obliged to use dry grass or rushes. 

It was impossible to bring very much household furniture with 
them in the ship. Much was fashioned more or less skilfully after 
their landing. The Plymouth Museum contains an interesting 
collection of their cooking-utensils, a few chairs, desk, cradle, etc. 

B i 



2 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES ST AN DISH 

Clad in doublet and liose, and boots of Cordovan 

leather, 
Strode, with a martial air, Miles Standish the Puritan 

Captain. 
Buried in thought he seemed, with his hands behind 

him, and pausing 5 

Ever and anon to behold his glittering weapons of 

warfare. 
Hanging in shining array along the walls of the 

chamber, — 
Cutlass and corselet of steel, and his trusty sword of 

Damascus, 
Curved at the point and inscribed with its mystical 

Arabic sentence, 

3 Cordovan : locate Cordova. Cordovan leather was a famous 
preparation of goat skin. 

4 Miles Standish : see the sketch of the poem in the preface. 

y Damascus: locate it. The Saracens were skilful workers of 
the metals, and the blades manufactured at Damascus were partic- 
ularly line. The steel was often given a watered appearance and 
swords were engraved with some sacred word or phrase, like the 
word " Kismet," meaning fate. To show the finely tempered edge 
of these Arabic weapons, the story is told in Scott's " Talisman" of 
the Saladin having a trial of skill with Richard Cceur de Lion of 
England. The Saladin tossed a down cushion into the air, and as it 
fell, neatly sliced it in two with his curved blade. 

Both the Massachusetts Historical Society and the Pilgrim 
Society of Plymouth claim to have the sword of Miles Standish. It 
is quite possible that he had more than one. 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 3 

While underneath, in a corner, were fowling-piece, 
musket, and matchlock. lo 

Short of stature he was, but strongly built and ath- 
letic, 

Broad in the shoulders, deep-chested, with muscles 
and sinews of iron ; 

Brown as a nut was his face, but his russet beard was 
already 

Maked with patches of snow, as hedges sometimes in 
November. 

Near him was seated John Alden, his friend and house- 
hold companion, 15 

Writing with diligent speed at a table of pine by the 
window ; 

Fair-haired, azure-eyed, with delicate Saxon com- 
plexion, 

Having the dew of his youth, and the beauty thereof, 
as the captives 

Whom Saint Gregory saw, and exclaimed, " Not An- 
gles but Angels." 

15 John Alden : see the sketch of the poem in the preface. 

18 Dew of his youth : give the meaning of this expression in your 
own language. 

19 Saint Gregory : a Roman monk of the Benedictine order who 
afterwards became one of the greatest of the Popes. It was while 
a monk that he saw in the slave market at Rome some English 
captives. A Teutonic tribe called Angles had overrun Britain and 



4 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STAND ISH 

Youngest of all was he of the men who came in the 
Mayflower. 20 

Suddenly breaking the silence, the diligent scribe 
interrupting, 

Spake, in the pride of his heart, Miles Standish the 
Captain of Plymouth. 

" Look at these arms," he said, "the warlike weapons 
that hang here 

Burnished and bright and clean, as if for parade or 
inspection ! 

This is the sword of Damascus I fought with in Flan- 
ders ; this breastplate, 25 

Well I remember the day ! once saved my life in a 
skirmish ; 

Here in front you can see the very dint of the bullet 

the Romans called the inhabitants of the island by their name. So 
fair were the faces of the captives that the good monk exclaimed, 
" Non Angli sed Angeli," that is, " not Angles but angels." When 
Saint Gregory became Pope, he sent Saint Augustine over to 
England to convert them to Christianity. 

21 Scribe : from the Latin word which means to lorite. It is used 
constantly in the Bible to mean the people whose profession it was 
to copy out the Scriptures, as there was no printing in those days. 
The Jews got all their laws from the Scriptures, and hence the 
scribes were their lawyers. Look up Luke v. 17. With whom are 
they often associated in the New Testament ? To whom does the 
word refer here ? Why ? 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES ST AN DISH b 

Fired point-blank at my heart by a Spanisli arcabu- 

cero. 
Had it not been of sheer steel, the forgotten bones of 

Miles Standish 
Would at this moment be mould, in their grave in the 

Flemish morasses." 2,° 

Thereupon answered John Alden, but looked not up 

from his writing : 
" Truly the breath of the Lord hath slackened the 

speed of the bullet ; 
He in his mercy preserved you, to be our shield and 

our weapon ! " 
Still the Captain continued, unheeding the words of 

the stripling: 
" See, how bright they are burnished, as if in an 

arsenal hanging; 35 

That is because I have done it myself, and not left it 

to others. 
Serve yourself, would you be well served, is an excel- 
lent adage ; 
So I take care of my arms, as you of your pens and 

your inkhorn. 

28 Arcabucero : formerly a Spanish archer, now a Spanish soldier 
who shoots, with any sort of weapon. 

32, 33 This is an instance of liow the Pilgrims made use of phrases 
from the Bible in ordinary speech. 



6 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Then, too, there are my soldiers, my great, invincible 

army, 
Twelve men, all equipped, having each his rest and 

his matchlock, 40 

Eighteen shillings a month, together with diet and 

pillage. 
And, like Caesar, I know the name of each of my sol- 
diers ! " 
This he said with a smile, that danced in his eyes, as 

the sunbeams 
Dance on the waves of the sea, and vanish again in a 

moment. 
Alden laughed as he wrote, and still the Captain 

continued : 45 

39 Army : this little military company, which is doubtless the 
beginning of the militia system in America, was made up by the 
settlers the first year through fear that the Indians would be more 
than likely to attack them if they came to know how many of their 
number had died. To Miles Standish, after wars he had seen waged 
in Holland, this little band of twelve men seemed ludicrous. Yet 
it was enough with him at its head to preserve the colony until it 
grew stronger. A few men with guns are a match for a much 
larger number armed only with such weapons as those of the 
Indians. 

41 Pillage : what would a soldier get by pillage ? How much are 
eighteen shillings in American money? Find out if you can how 
much soldiers are paid to-day. 

42 Caesar was immensely popular with his army partly for this 
reason. 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 7 

" Look ! you can see from this window my brazen how- 
itzer planted 
High on the roof of the church, a preacher who speaks 

to the purpose, 
Steady, straightforward, and strong, with irresistible 

logic, 
Orthodox, flashing conviction right into the hearts of 

the heathen. 
Now we are ready, I think, for any assault of the 

Indians : 50 

Let them come, if they like, and the sooner they try it 

the better, — 
Let them come if they like, be it sagamore, sachem, or 

pow-wow, 
Aspinet, Samoset, Corbitant, Squanto, or Tokamaha- 

mon ! " 

Long at the window he stood, and wistfully gazed 
on the landscape. 



^T" Here the poet is using poetic license with the faats. The 
church was not built until a year or two later. 

52 Give these names in the order of their rank. Why does not 
the poet arrange them so in his line? What two meanings for 
pow-wow ? 



53 These are real names of Indians whom the Pilgrims knew. 
Learn their proper pronunciation by scanning the line. 



8 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STAND ISH 

Washed with a cold gray mist, the vapory breath 
of the east-wind, 55 

Eorest and meadow and hill, and the steel-blue rim of 
the ocean, 

Lying silent and sad, in the afternoon shadows and 
sunshine. 

Over his countenance flitted a shadow like those on 
the landscape, 

Gloom intermingled with light ; and his voice was sub- 
dued with emotion, 

Tenderness, pity, regret, as after a pause he pro- 
ceeded : 60 

"Yonder there, on the hill by the sea, lies buried 
Eose Standish; 

Beautiful rose of love, that bloomed for me by the 
wayside ! 

She was the first to die of all who came in the May- 
flower ! 

Green above her is growing the field of wheat we have 
sown there, 



63 Mayfloiver : what was the name of the other ship which started 
with the Mayfloiver? The Mayflower carried the colonists who 
settled Salem and those who settled what is now Boston. Thus 
this ship is closely associated with the beginnings of New England. 

64 Those who died the first winter were buried on a low bluff 
near the shore and the graves smoothed flat. As soon as the season 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 9 

Better to hide from the Indian scouts the graves of 
our people, 65 

Lest they should count them and see how many 
already have perished ! " 

Sadly his face he averted, and strode up and down, 
and was thoughtful. 

Fixed to the opposite wall was a shelf of books, 
and among them 

Prominent three, distinguished alike for bulk and for 
binding ; 

Bariffe's Artillery Guide, and the Commentaries of 
Csesar, 70 

Out of the Latin translated by Arthur Goldinge of 
London, 

And, as if guarded by these, between them was stand- 
ing the Bible. 

Musing a moment before them, Miles Standish paused, 
as if doubtful 

Which of the three he should choose for his consola- 
tion and comfort, 

permitted, this place was sown with wheat to prevent the Indians 
from learning how weak the colony was growing by counting the 
graves. 

'0 Commentaries of Caesar : what was the subject of these 
Commentaries ? 

"1 Arthur Goldinge : the translator of many classical works. 



10 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Whether the wars of the Hebrews, the famous cam- 
paigns of the Romans, 75 

Or the Artillery practice, designed for belligerent 
Christians. 

Finally down from its shelf he dragged the ponderous 
Koman, 

Seated himself at the window, and opened the book, 
and in silence 

Turned o'er the well-worn leaves, where thumb-marks 
thick on the margin. 

Like the trample of feet, proclaimed the battle was 
hottest. ^° 

Nothing was heard in the room but the hurrying pen 
of the stripling. 

Busily writing epistles important, to go by the May- 
flower, 

Eeady to sail on the morrow, or next day at latest, 
God willing ! 

Homeward bound with the tidings of all that terrible 
winter, 



75 In what period of their history occurred " the wars of the 
Hebrews"? 

79, 80 Explain the meaniug of these lines. 

83 The Mayfloioer sailed on her return voyage April 15, 1621. 
How old was the colony then? . 

84 Terrible winter : terrible from the bereavements and priva- 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANBISH 11 

Letters written by Alden, and full of the name of 
Priscilla, 85 

Full of the name and the fame of the Puritan maiden 
Priscilla ! 



II 

LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP 

Nothing was heard in the room but the hurrying 

pen of the stripling, 
Or an occasional sigh from the laboring heart of the 

Captain, 
Eeading the marvellous words and achievements of 

Julius Caesar. 
After a while he exclaimed, as he smote with his 

hand, palm downwards, 90 

Heavily on the page : " A wonderful man was this 

Caesar ! 
You are a writer, and I am a fighter, but here is a 

fellow 

tions they suffered in trying to make a home in an unsettled 
country. But the season itself was a mild one for New 
England. 

85 Priscilla : see the sketch of the poem in the preface. 

89 Bring into class a sketch of Julius Caesar. 



12 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Who could both write and fight, and in both was 

equally skilful ! " 
Straightway answered and spake John Alden, the 

comely, the youthful : 
" Yes, he was equally skilled, as you say, with his 

pen and his weapons. 95 

Somewhere have I read, but where I forget, he could 

dictate 
Seven letters at once, at the same time writing his 

memoirs." 
" Truly," continued the Captain, not heeding or hear- 
ing the other, 
" Truly a wonderful man was Caius Julius Caesar ! 
Better be first, he said, in a little Iberian village, 100 
Than be second in Rome, and I think he was right 

when he said it. 
Twice was he married before he was twenty, and 

many times after ; 
Battles five hundred he fought, and a thousand cities 

he conquered ; 

100 It is told of Caesar that as he was once marching through a 
wretched little village of barbarians and there arose some mocking 
comment among his companions about there being no canvassing 
for office there, he remarked that for his part he would rather be 
first there than second even in Rome. Standish evidently agrees 
with him. What do you think of the sentiment ? 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES ST AN DISH 13 

He, too, fought in Flanders, as he himself has recorded ; 
Finally he was stabbed by his friend, the orator 

Brutus ! 105 

Now, do you know what he did on a certain occasion 

in Flanders, 
When the rear-guard of his army retreated, the front 

giving way too, 
And the immortal Twelfth Legion was crowded so 

closely together 
There was no room for their swords ? Why, he seized 

a shield from a soldier, 
Put himself straight at the head of his troops, and 

commanded the captains, no 

Calling on each by his name, to order forward the 

ensigns j 

i"* Can you give the name of a famous man connected with the 
Virginia colony wlio also fought in Flanders ? 

Flanders : a county of the Low Countries or the Netherlands 
(now Holland and Belgium) where war was waged with Spain. 
The seven counties which continued the war until they gained 
their independence made up the modern Holland. 

106 Flanders : in the time of Csesar, Flanders and th« rest of 
what is now Belgium were not divided from France, and the Romans 
called the whole country Gaul. This part of it was occupied by the 
Belgi whom Caesar considers " the bravest of all the Gauls." 

108 Legion: a division of the Roman army consisting of about 
five thousand men. The Twelfth Legion was Caesar's favorite. 

Ill What would be the effect of this order when executed ? 



14 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STAN DISH 

Then to widen the ranks, and give more room for their 

weapons ; 
So he won the day, the battle of something-or-other. 
That's what I always say ; if you wish a thing to be 

well done, 
You must do it yourself, you must not leave it to 

others ! " 115 

All was silent again ; the Captain continued his 

reading. 
Nothing was heard in the room but the hurrying pen 

of the stripling 
Writing epistles important to go next day by the 

Mayflower, 
Filled with the name and the fame of the Puritan 

maiden Priscilla ; 
Every sentence began or closed with the name of 

Priscilla, 120 

Till the treacherous pen, to which he confided the 

secret. 
Strove to betray it by singing and shouting the name 

of Priscilla ! 
Finally closing his book, with a bang of the ponderous 

cover, 
Sudden and loud as the sound of a soldier grounding 

his musket, 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STAN DISH 15 

Thus to the young man spake Miles Standish the Cap- 
tain of Plymouth : 125 

" When you have finished your work, I have something 
important to tell you. 

Be not however in haste ; I can wait ; I shall not be 
impatient ! " 

Straightway Alden replied, as he folded the last of his 
letters, 

Pushing his papers aside, and giving respectful at- 
tention : 

" Speak ; for whenever you speak, I am always ready 
to listen, 130 

Always ready to hear whatever pertains to Miles 
Standish." 

Thereupon answered the Captain, embarrassed, and 
culling his phrases : 

" 'Tis not good for a man to be alone, say the Scriptures. 

This I have said before, and again and again I repeat it ; 

Every hour in the day, I think it, and feel it, and say it. 

Siace Eose Standish died, my life has been weary and 
dreary ; * 136 

Sick at heart have I been, beyond the healing of 
friendship. 

Oft in my lonely hours have I thought of the maiden 
Priscilla. 

133 Look up Genesis ii. 18. 



16 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES ST AN DISH 

She is alone in the world ; her father and mother and 

brother 
Died in the winter together ; I saw her going and 

coming, 140 

Now to the grave of the dead, and now to the bed of 

the dying, 
Patient, courageous, and strong, and said to myself, 

that if ever 
There were angels on earth, as there are angels in 

heaven, 
Two have I seen and known ; and the angel whose 

name is Priscilla 
Holds in my desolate life the place which the other 

abandoned. 145 

Long have I cherished the thought, but never have 

dared to reveal it. 
Being a coward in this, though valiant enough for the 

most ]3art. 
Go to the damsel Priscilla, the loveliest maiden of 

Plymouth, 
Say that a blunt old Captain, a man not of words but 

of actions, 
Olfers his hand and his heart, the hand and heart of a 

soldier. 150 

Not in these words, you know, but this in short is my 

meaning ; 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 17 

I am a maker of war, and not a maker of phrases. 
You, who are bred as a scholar, can say it in elegant 

language. 
Such as you read in your books of the pleadings and 

wooings of lovers, 
Such as you think best adapted to win the heart 

of a maiden." 155 

When he had spoken, John Alden, the fair-haired, 

taciturn stripling. 
All aghast at his words, surprised, embarrassed, bewil- 
dered, 
Trying to mask his dismay by treating the subject 

with lightness. 
Trying to smile, and yet feeling his heart stand still 

in his bosom. 
Just as a timepiece stops in a house that is stricken by 

lightning, 160 

Thus made answer and spake, or rather stammered 

than answered : 
" Such a message as that, I am sure I should mangle 

and mar it ; 

152 Maker of phrases : explain what this means. 

156-159 "Why is Alden disturbed by the Captain's request? What 
would have been the wisest thing for him to do under the circum- 
stances ? 

160 Timepiece stops : a belief without much foundation in fact. 
c 



18 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

If you would have it well done, — I am only repeating 

your maxim, — 
You must do it yourself, you must not leave it to 

others ! " 
But with the air of a man whom nothing can turn 

from his purpose, 165 

Gravely shaking his head, made answer the Captain 

of Plymouth : 
" Truly the maxim is good, and I do not mean to gain- 
say it ; 
But we must use it discreetly, and not waste powder 

for nothing. 
Now, as I said before, I was never a maker of 

phrases. 
I can march up to a fortress and summon the place to 

surrender, 170 

But march up to a woman with such a proposal, I dare 

not. 
I'm not afraid of bullets, nor shot from the mouth of 

a cannon. 
But of a thundering ^No!' point-blank from the 

mouth of a woman. 
That I confess I'm afraid of, nor am I ashamed to 

confess it ! 
So you must grant my request, for you are an ele- 
gant scholar, 175 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISII 19 

Having the graces of speech, and skill in the turning 

of phrases." 
Taking the hand of his friend, who still was reluctant 

and doubtful. 
Holding it long in his own, and pressing it kindly, he 

added : 
" Though I have spoken thus lightly, yet deep is the 

feeling that prompts me ; 
Surely you cannot refuse what I ask in the name of 

our friendship ! " i8o 

Then made answer John Alden: "The name of 

friendship is sacred ; 
What you demand in that name, I have not the power 

to deny you ! " 
So the strong will prevailed, subduing and moulding 

the gentler. 
Friendship prevailed over love, and Alden went on 

his errand. 

Ill 

THE lover's errand 

So the strong will prevailed, and Alden went on his 
errand, 185 

Out of the street of the village, and into the paths of 
the forest, 



20 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Into the tranquil woods, where bluebirds and robins 
were building 

Towns in the populous trees, with hanging gardens of 
verdure, 

Peaceful, aerial cities of joy and affection and free- 
dom. 

All around him was calm, but within him commotion 
and conflict, 190 

Love contending with friendship, and self with each 
generous impulse. 

To and fro in his breast his thoughts were heaving 
and dashing, 

As in a foundering ship, with every roll of the ves- 
sel, 

Washes the bitter sea, the merciless surge of the 
ocean ! 

"Must I relinquish it all," he cried with a wild 
lamentation, — 195 

188 Populous : why are the trees so called ? 

Hanging gardens : the reference is to the famous Hanging Gar- 
dens of Babylon which Nebuchadnezzar built for his wife. She was 
a princess from Media and missed in the flat scenery of Babylon the 
mountains and valleys of her native land. These gardens were 
made in terraces supported upon columns and with soil suflSciently 
deep to sustain life in full-grown trees. 

191 What did love prompt him to do ? What did friendship urge 
upon him ? 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STAN DISH 21 

"Must I relinquish it all, the joy, the hope, the illu- 
sion ? 

Was it for this I have loved, and waited, and wor- 
shipped in silence ? 

AVas it for this I have followed the flying feet and the 
shadow 

Over the wintry sea, to the desolate shores of New 
England ? 

Truly the heart is deceitful, and out of its depths of 
corruption 200 

Kise, like an exhalation, the misty phantoms of passion ; 

Angels of light they seem, but are only delusions of 
Satan. 

All is clear to me now; I feel it, I see it distinctly! 

This is the hand of the Lord; it is laid upon me in 
anger. 

For I have followed too much the heart's desires and 
devices, 205 

Worshipping Astaroth blindly, and impious idols of 
Baal. 



198, 199 Longfellow supposes Alden's attachment to have begun in 
England, See the sketch of the poem in the preface. 

2*^6 Astaroth and Baal : these were Phoenician deities, Astaroth, 
also spelled Astarte, being about the same as the Roman Venus. 
Look up Judges ii. 12, 13, and I Samuel xii. 10. What Command- 
ment was broken by such worship ? 



22 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES ST AN DISH 

This is the cross I must bear ; the sin and the swift 
retribution." 

So through the Plymouth woods John Alden went 

on his errand ; 
Crossing the brook at the ford, where it brawled over 

pebble and shallow, 
Gathering still, as he went, the Mayflowers blooming 

around him, 210 

Fragrant, filling the air with a strange and wonderful 

sweetness. 
Children lost in the woods, and covered with leaves in 

their slumber. 
" Puritan flowers," he said, " and the type of Puritan 

maidens, 
Modest and simple and sweet, the very type of Pris- 

cilla ! 
So I will take them to her ; to Priscilla the Mayflower 

of Plymouth, 215 

210 Mayflowers : the trailing arbutus. The name is applied in 
England to the hawthorn. It is said that the Pilgrims called the 
trailing arbutus thus after the hawthorn of their old home. 

208, 209 These lines would seem to indicate that there were other 
houses in the settlement that winter than the little cluster on Ley- 
den St. Another instance of poetic license. 

212 What story is referred to ? 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 23 

Modest and simple and sweet, as a parting gift will I 

take them; 
Breathing their silent farewells, as they fade and 

wither and perish, 
Soon to be thrown away as is the heart of the 

giver." 
So through the Plymouth woods John Alden went on 

his errand ; 
Came to an open space, and saw the disk of the 

ocean, 220 

Sailless, sombre and cold with the comfortless breath 

of the east-wind ; 
Saw the new-built house, and people at work in a 

meadow ; 
Heard, as he drew near the door, the musical voice of 

Priscilla 
Singing the hundredth Psalm, the grand old Puritan 

anthem. 
Music that Luther sang to the sacred words of the 

Psalmist, 225 

Full of the breath of the Lord, consoling and CQmfort- 

ing many. 

224 "Who wrote the words of the hundredth Psalm ? 

225 Who was Luther ? Who was the Psalmist, and why was he so 
called ? 

226 Look up Genesis ii. 7. 



24 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Then, as he opened the door, he beheld the form of 
the maiden 

Seated beside her wheel, and the carded wool like a 
snow-drift 

Piled at her knee, her white hands feeding the raven- 
ous spindle, 

While with her foot on the treadle she guided the 
wheel in its motion. 230 

Open wide on her lap lay the well-worn psalm-book of 
Ainsworth, 

Printed in Amsterdam, the words and the music to- 
gether, 

Eough-hewn, angular notes, like stones in the wall of 
a churchyard. 

Darkened and overhung by the running vine of the 
verses. 



228 Wheel : what sort of wheel is this ? Cau you give a descrip- 
tion of it ? Where did she get the wool ? 

229 Ravenous : why is the spindle called ravenous ? 

231 Ainsworth : a saintly leader and teacher among the Puritans. 
He was forced to remove to Holland, and there occupied his life 
with writings on the different books of the Bible. He died about 
1622. 

233, 234 A good description of a page of the hymn book. The art 
of printing was introduced in 1454. The use of such an art grows 
slowly, so that after the lapse of a century and a half the printing 
was still rough. 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 25 

Such was the book from whose pages she sang the old 
Puritan anthem, 235 

She, the Puritan girl, in the solitude of the forest, 

Making the humble house and the modest apparel of 
homespun 

Beautiful with her beauty, and rich with the wealth of 
her being ! 

Over him rushed, like a wind that is keen and cold 
and relentless, 

Thoughts of what might have been, and the weight 
and woe of his errand ; 240 

All the dreams that had faded, and all the hopes that 
had vanished. 

All his life henceforth a dreary and tenantless man- 
sion. 

Haunted by vain regrets, and pallid, sorrowful faces. 

Still he said to himself, and almost fiercely he said it, 

" Let not him that putteth his hand to the plough look 
backwards ; 245 

Though the ploughshare cut through the flowers of 
life to its fountains, 



237, 238 Compare these lines from Herbert's " Elixir " : — 

" Who swee 
Makes thg 

245 Look up Luke ix. 62. 



" Who sweeps a room as by Thy laws 
Makes that and the action fine." 



26 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Though it pass o'er the graves of the dead and the 
hearths of the living, 

It is the will of the' Lord ; and his mercy endureth for- 
ever ! " 

So he entered the house ; and the hum of the wheel 

and the singing 
Suddenly ceased ; for Priscilla, aroused by his step on 

the threshold, 250 

Rose as he entered and gave him her hand, in signal 

of welcome, 
Saying, " I knew it was you, when I heard your step 

in the passage ; 
Tor I was thinking of you, as I sat there singing and 

spinning." 
Awkward and dumb with delight, that a thought of 

him had been mingled 
Thus in the sacred psalm, that came from the heart of 

the maiden, 255 

Silent before her he stood, and gave her the flowers for 

an answer. 
Finding no words for his thought. He remembered 

that day in the winter, 
After the first great snow, when he broke a path from 

the village, 

247 Look up Psalm cxxxvi. 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 27 

Keeling and plunging along through the drifts that 

encumbered the doorway, 
Stamping the snow from his feet as he entered the 

house, and Priscilla 260 

Laughed at his snowy locks, and gave him a seat by 

the fireside, 
Grateful and pleased to know he had thought of her 

in the snowstorm. 
Had he but spoken then ! perhaps not in vain had he 

spoken ; 
Now it was all too late; the golden moment had van- 
ished ! 
So he stood there abashed, and gave her the flowers 

for an answer. 265 

Then they sat down and talked of the birds and the 
beautiful Springtime ; 

Talked of their friends at home, and the Mayflower 
that sailed on the morrow. 

" I have been thinking all day," said gently the Puri- 
tan maiden, 

" Dreaming all night, and thinking all day, of the 

hedge-rows of England, — 

269 Hedge-rows : the hedge-rows of England are celebrated. 
Every visitor to England remembers them. They serve instead 
of fences to divide the fields, and in the spring are a tangle of 
running vines, and are full of blossoms. 



28 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

They are in blossom now, and the country is all like 
a garden ; 270 

Thinking of lanes and fields, and the song of the lark 
and the linnet, 

Seeing the village street, and familiar faces of neigh- 
bors 

Going about as of old, and stopping to gossip to- 
gether, 

And, at the end of the street, the village church, with 
the ivy 

Climbing the old gray tower, and the quiet graves in 
the churchyard. 275 

Kind are the people I live with, and dear to me my 
religion ; 

Still my heart is so sad, that I wish myself back in 
Old England. 

You will say it is wrong, but I cannot help it : I al- 
most 

Wish myself back in Old England, I feel so lonely 
and wretched." 

Thereupon answered the youth : " Indeed I do not 
condemn you ; 280 

Stouter hearts than a woman's have quailed in this 
terrible winter. 
270-275 A beautiful description of an English village. 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 29 

Yours is tender and trusting, and needs a stronger to 

lean on ; 
So I have come to you now, with, an offer and proffer 

of marriage 
Made by a good man and true, Miles Standish the 

Captain of Plymouth ! " 



Thus he delivered his message, the dexterous writer 
of letters, — 285 

Did not embellish the theme, nor array it in beautiful 
phrases, 

But came straight to the point, and blurted it out like 
a school-boy ; 

Even the Captain himself could hardly have said it 
more bluntly. 

Mute with amazement and sorrow, Priscilla the Puri- 
tan maiden 

Looked into Alden's face, her eyes dilated with won- 
der, 290 

Feeling his words like a blow, that stunned her and 
rendered her speechless ; 

Till at length she exclaimed, interrupting the ominous 
silence : 

" If the great Captain of Plymouth is so very eager to 
wed me, 



30 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STAN DISH 

Why does lie not come himself, and take the trouble 

to woo me ? 
If I am not worth the wooing, I surely am not worth 

the winning ! " 295 

Then John Alden began explaining and smoothing 

the matter, 
Making it worse as he went, by saying the Captain 

was busy, — » 

Had no time for such things ; — such things ! the words 

grating harshly 
Fell on the ear of Priscilla ; and swift as a flash she 

made answer : 
" Has he no time for such things, as you call it, before 

he is married, 300 

Would he be likely to find it, or make it, after the 

wedding ? 
That is the way with you men ; you don't understand 

us, you cannot. 
When you have made up your minds, after thinking 

of this one and that one. 
Choosing, selecting, rejecting, comparing one with 

another, 
Then you make known your desire, with abrupt and 

sudden avowal, 305 

And are offended and hurt, and indignant perhaps, 

that a woman 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 31 

Does not respond at once to a love that she never 

susiDected, 
Does not attain at a bound the height to which you 

have been climbing. 
This is not right nor just : for surely a woman's affec- 
tion 
Is not a thing to be asked for, and had for only the 

asking. 310 

When one is truly in love, one not only says it, but 

shov/s it. 
Had he but waited awhile, had he only showed that 

he loved me, 
Even this Captain of yours — who knows? — at last 

might have won me. 
Old and rough as he is ; but now it never can happen.'^ 

Still John Alden went on, unheeding the words of 
Priscilla, 315 

Urging the suit of his friend, explaining, persuading, 
expanding ; 

Spoke of his courage and skill, and of all his battles 
in Flanders, 

How with the people of God he had chosen to suffer 
affliction. 

How, in return for his zeal, they had made him Cap- 
tain of Plymouth ; 



32 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

He was a gentleman born, could trace Ms pedigree 
plainly 320 

Back to Hugh Standish of Duxbury Hall, in Lanca- 
shire, England, 

Who was the son of Ealph, and the grandson of 
Thurston de Standish ; 

Heir unto vast estates, of which he was basely de- 
frauded, 

Still bore the family arms, ^and had for his crest a 
cock argent 

Combed and wattled gules, and all the rest of the 
blazon. 325 

He was a man of honor, of noble and generous nature ; 

Though he was rough, he was kindly ; she knew how 
during the winter 

He had attended the sick, with a hand as gentle as 
woman's ; 

Somewhat hasty and hot, he could not deny it, and 
headstrong, 

324 Family arms : if a man belonged to a family of the nobility, 
or was knighted for bravery in war, he and his sons were permitted 
to wear upon their shields a design of some sort to distinguish 
them in battle. This design usually contained the head or the 
whole body of some animal. That of Standish was evidently a 
cock argent, that is, silver-colored or white, with comb and wattles 
gule, that is, red. 

?25 Blazon : the word means the description of a coat of arms. 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 33 

Stern as a soldier might be, but hearty, and placable 
always, 330 

Not to be laughed at and scorned, because he was little 
of stature ; 

For he was great of heart, magnanimous, . courtly, 
courageous ; 

Any woman in Plymouth, nay, any woman in Eng- 
land, 

Might be happy and proud to be called the wife of 
Miles Standish ! 

But as he warmed and glowed, in his simple and 

eloquent language, 335 

Quite forgetful of self, and full of the praise of his 

rival, 
Archly the maiden smiled, and, with eyes overrunning 

wdth laughter. 
Said, in a tremulous voice, " Why don't you speak for 

yourself, John ? " 

IV 

JOHN ALDEN 

Into the open air John Alden, perplexed and bewil- 
dered. 

Rushed like a man insane, and wandered alone by the 
sea-side ; 340 



34 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES ST AN DISH 

Paced up and down the sands, and bared his head to 

the east-wind, 
Cooling his heated brow, and the fire and fever within 

hill}. 
Slowly, as out of the heavens, with apocalyptical 

splendors, 
Sank the City of God, in the vision of John the Apostle, 
So, with its cloudy walls of chrysolite, jasper, and 

sapphire, 345 

Sank the broad red sun, and over its turrets uplifted 
Glimmered the golden reed of the angel who measured 

the city, 

" Welcome, wind of the East ! " he exclaimed in 

his wild exultation, 
" Welcome, wind of the East, from the caves of the 

misty Atlantic! 
Blowing o'er fields of dulse, and measureless meadows 

of sea-grass, 350 

Blowing o'er rocky wastes, and the grottos and gardens 

of ocean ! 
Lay thy cold, moist hand on my burning forehead, 

and wrajD me 

344 Look up Revelation xxi. 10-21. 

349 Caves : in mythology the winds are supposed to be kept in 
eaves. 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 35 

Close in thy garments of mist, to allay the fever 

within me ! " 
Like an awakened conscience, the sea was moaning 

and tossing. 
Beating remorseful and loud the mutable sands of the 

sea-shore. 355 

Fierce in his soul was the struggle and tumult of pas- 
sions contending ; 
Love triumphant and crowned, and friendship wounded 

and bleeding, 
Passionate cries of desire, and importunate pleadings 

of duty ! 
"Is it my fault," he said, "that the maiden has chosen 

between us ? 
Is it my fault that he failed, — my fault that I am the 

victor ? " 360 

Then within him there thundered a voice, like the 

voice of the Prophet : 
" It hath displeased the Lord ! " — and he thought of 

David's transgression, 

362 David, king of Israel, fell in love with Bathsheba, the beauti- 
ful wife of his friend Uriah. And he sent Uriah away to the war 
that he might be killed. Afterward the king married Bathsheba. 
But Nathan, the prophet, announced to David, " It hath displeased 
the Lord! " 

What resemblance is there between this situation and that of 
John Alden ? 



36 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Bathsheba's beautiful face, and his friend in the front 
of the battle ! 

Shame and confusion of guilt, and abasement and self- 
condemnation, 

Overwhelmed him at once ; and he cried in the deep- 
est contrition : 365 

" It hath displeased the Lord ! It is the temptation 
of Satan ! '^ 

Then, uplifting his head, he looked at the sea, and 

beheld there 
Dimly the shadowy form of the Mayflower riding at 

anchor, 
Eocked on the rising tide, and ready to sail on the 

morrow ; 
Heard the voices of men through the mist, the rattle 

of cordage 370 

Thrown on the deck, the shouts of the mate, and the 

sailors' " Ay, ay. Sir ! " 
Clear and distinct, but not loud, in the dripping air of 

the twilight. 
Still for a moment he stood, and listened, and stared 

at the vessel. 
Then went hurriedly on, as one who, seeing a phantom, 
Stops, then quickens his pace, and follows the beckon- 
ing shadow. 375 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 37 

" Yes, it is plain to me now/' he murmured ; " the 

hand of the Lord is 
Leading me out of the land of darkness, the bondage 

of error. 
Through the sea, that shall lift the walls of its waters 

around me. 
Hiding me, cutting me off, from the cruel thoughts 

that pursue me. 
Back will I go o'er the ocean, this dreary land will 

abandon, 380 

Her whom I may not love, and him whom my heart 

has offended. 
Better to be in my grave in the green old churchyard 

in England, 
Close by my mother's side, and among the dust of my 

kindred ; 
Better be dead and forgotten, than living in shame 

and dishonor ! 
Sacred and safe and unseen, in the dark of the narrow 

chamber 3S5 

With me my secret shall lie, like a buried jewel that 

glimmers 
Bright on the hand that is dust, in the chambers of 

silence and darkness, — 

3-6-3r8 Look up Exodus xiv. 21-29. 



38 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES ST AN DISH 

Yes, as the marriage ring of the great espousal here- 
after!" 

Thus as he spake, he turned, in the strength of his 

strong resolution, 
Leaving behind him the shore, and hurried along in 

the twilight, 390 

Through the congenial gloom of the forest silent and 

sombre, 
Till he beheld the lights in the seven houses of 

Plymouth, 
Shining like seven stars in the dusk and mist of the 

evening. 
Soon he entered his door, and found the redoubtable 

Captain 
Sitting alone, and absorbed in the martial pages of 

Caesar, 395 

Fighting some great campaign in Hainault or Brabant 

or Flanders. 
" Long have you been on your errand," he said with a 

cheery demeanor. 
Even as one who is waiting an answer, and fears not 

the issue. 

388 The great espousal : look up Revelation xix. 7. 
396 Hainault, Bi-abant, Flanders : all counties of the Netherlands 
which are now incorporated in Belgium and Holland. 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 39 

"Not far off is the house, although the woods are 

between us ; 
But you have lingered so long, that while you were 

going and coming 400 

I have fought ten battles and sacked and demolished 

a city. 
Come, sit down, and in order relate to me all that has 

happened." 

Then John Alden spake, and related the wondrous 
adventure 

From beginning to end, minutely, just as it hap- 
pened ; 

How he had seen Priscilla, and how he had sped in 
his courtship, 405 

Only smoothing a little, and softening down her re- 
fusal. 

But when he came at length to the words Priscilla 
had spoken. 

Words so tender and cruel, "Why don't you speak 
for yourself, John ? " 

Up leaped the Captain of Plymouth, and stamped on 
the floor, till his armor 

Clanged on the wall, where it hung, with a sound of 
sinister omen. 410 

All his pent-up wrath burst forth in a sudden explosion. 



40 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

E'en as a hand-grenade, that scatters destrnction 

aronnd it. 
Wildly he shouted, and loud : " John Alden ! you 

have betrayed me ! 
Me, Miles Standish, your friend! have supplanted, 

defrauded, betrayed me ! 
One of my ancestors ran his sword through the heart 

of Wat Tyler ; 415 

Who shall prevent me from running my own through 

the heart of a traitor? 
Yours is the greater treason, for yours is a treason to 

friendship ! 
You, who lived under my roof, whom I cherished and 

loved as a brother ; 
You, who have fed at my board, and drunk at my cup, 

to whose keeping 
I have intrusted my honor, my thoughts the most 

sacred and secret, — 420 

You too, Brutus ! ah, woe to the name of friendship 

hereafter ! 
Brutus was Caesar's friend, and you were mine, but 

henceforward 

415 Wat Tyler : the famous rebel in the early part of the reign of 
Richard II. It is stated that after Wat was struck from his horse 
in the presence of the king, a squire of Richard's, a " certain John 
Standysshe," slew him with his sword, and for this was knighted. 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 41 

Let there be nothing between us save war, and impla- 
cable hatred ! " 



So spake the Captain of Plymonth, and strode about 

in the chamber, 
Chafing and choking with rage ; like cords were the 

veins on his temples. 425 

But in the midst of his anger a man appeared at the 

doorway, 
Bringing in uttermost haste a message of urgent im- 
portance, 
Kumors of danger and war and hostile incursions of 

Indians ! 
Straightway the Captain paused, and, without further 

question or parley, 
Took from the nail on the wall his sword with its 

scabbard of iron, 430 

Buckled the belt round his waist, and, frowning 

fiercely, departed. 
Alden was left alone. He heard the clank of the 

scabbard 
Growing fainter and fainter, and dying away in the 

distance. 
Then he arose from his seat, and looked forth into the 

darkness, 



42 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Felt the cool air blow on his cheek, that was hot with 
the insult, 435 

Lifted his eyes to the heavens, and, folding his hands 
as in childhood. 

Prayed in the silence of night to the Father who seeth 
in secret. 

Meanwhile the choleric Captain strode wrathful 
away to the council. 

Found it already assembled, impatiently waiting his 
coming ; 

Men in the middle of life, austere and grave in de- 
portment, 440 

Only one of them old, the hill that was nearest to 
heaven. 

Covered with snow, but erect, the excellent Elder of 
Plymouth. 

God had sifted three kingdoms to find the wheat for 
this planting, 

437 Look uj) Matthew vi. 4. 

442 Elder of Plymouth : this was William Brewster. The church 
had au Elder for teaching and another, called the ruling Elder. 
Brewster was the teaching Elder, that is, the pastor of the 
church. 

443 Sifted three kingdoms : the people of the dissenting churches 
of England, France, and Holland had heen fearfully persecuted for 
their religion. Only those of the utmost courage and endurance 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 43 

Then liad sifted the wheat, as the living seed of a 

nation ; 
So say the chronicles old, and such is the faith of the 

people ! 445 

Near them was standing an Indian, in attitude stern 

and defiant, 
Naked down to the waist, and grim and ferocious in 

aspect ; 
While on the table before them was lying unopened a 

Bible, 
Ponderous, bound in leather, brass-studded, printed in 

Holland, 
And beside it outstretched the skin of a rattlesnake 

glittered, 450 

remained true to their faitli. When these refugees met in Holland, 
the common refuge, they formed practically one church. In Wins- 
low's narration, page 395, it is stated : " For the truth is the 
Dutch and French churches, either of them heing a people distinct 
from the world and gathered into a Holy Communion and not 
national churches — nay, so far from it as I verily believe the sixth 
person is not of the church — the difference is so small, if mod- 
erately pondered, between them and us, as we dare not for the 
world deny communion with them." 

444 Sifted the wheat : these people were again sifted out in Hol- 
land, only the most zealous electing to go to America. 

448 Bible : what did they intend to do with the Bible ? The Pil- 
grims used the old Geneva Bible long after King James' Version 
was printed in 1611. What Version do we use? 



44 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES ST AN DISH 

Filled, like a quiver, with arrows : a signal and chal- 
lenge of warfare. 
Brought by the Indian, and speaking with arrowy 

tongues of defiance. 
This Miles Standish beheld, as he entered, and heard 

them debating 
What were an answer befitting the hostile message 

and menace. 
Talking of this and of that, contriving, suggesting, 

objecting ; '455 

One voice only for peace, and that the voice of the 

Elder, 
Judging it wise and well that some at least were con- 
verted, 
Rather than any were slain, for this was but Christian 

behavior ! 
Then out spake Miles Standish, the stalwart Captain 

of Plymouth, 
Muttering deep in his throat, for his voice was husky 

with anger, 460 

" What! do you mean to make war with milk and the 

water of roses ? 
Is it to shoot red squirrels you have your howitzer 

planted 
There on the roof of the church, or is it to shoot red 

devils ? 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES ST AN DISH 45 

Truly the only tongue that is understood by a savage 

Must be the tongue of fire that speaks from the mouth 
of the cannon ! " 465 

Thereupon answered and said the excellent elder of 
Plymouth, 

Somewhat amazed and alarmed at this irreverent lan- 
guage : 

" Not so thought Saint Paul, nor yet the other Apos- 
tles; 

Not from the cannon's mouth were the tongues of fire 
they spake with ! " 

But unheeded fell this mild rebuke on the Captain, 470 

Who had advanced to the table, and thus continued 
discoursing : 

" Leave this matter to me, for to me by right it per- 
taineth. 

War is a terrible trade ; but in the cause that is 
righteous. 

Sweet is the smell of powder ; and thus I answer the 
challenge ! " 

Then from the rattlesnake's skin, with a 'sudden, 
contemptuous gesture, 475 

Jerking the Indian arrows, he filled it with powder 
and bullets 

Full to the very jaws, and handed it back to the 
savage, 



46 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Saying, in thundering tones : '' Here, take it ! this is 

your answer ! " 
Silently out of the room then glided the glistening 

savage, 
Bearing the serpent's skin, and seeming himself like a 

serpent, 480 

Winding his sinuous way in the dark to the depths of 

the forest. 

V 

THE SAILING OF THE MAYFLOWER 

Just in the gray of the dawn, as the mists uprose 
from the meadows. 

There was a stir and a sound in the slumbering village 
of Plymouth ; 

Clanging and clicking of arms, and the order impera- 
tive, "Forward!'' 

Given in tone suppressed, a tramp of feet, and then 
silence. 485 

Figures ten, in the mist, marched slowly out of the 
village. 

Standish the stalwart it was, with eight of his valor- 
ous army, 

487 Eight: there were twelve drilled men. Why did he not take 
the remaining four ? 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 47 

Led by their Indian guide, by Hobomok, friend of the 

white men, 
Northward marching to quell the sudden revolt of the 

savage. 
Giants they seemed in the mist, or the mighty men of 

King David ; 490 

Giants in heart they were, who believed in God and 

the Bible, — 
Ay, who believed in the smiting of Midianites and 

Philistines. 
Over them gleamed far off the crimson banners of 

morning ; 
Under them loud on the sands, the serried billows, 

advancing. 
Fired along the line, and in regular order re- 
treated. 495 

Many a mile had they marched, when at length the 
village of Plymouth 

490 Who was King David ? Had he auy other reputation than 
that of a warrior? 

492 Midianites : look up Exodus ii. 15. From the Bible text, 
what is the probable location of this country? 

Philistines: look up Exodus xiii. 17. What is the probable 
location of Philistia ? Why did the Israelites smite the Midianites 
and Pbilistines? 

493-495 Of what is this a description ? 



48 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STAN DISH 

Woke from its sleep, and arose, intent on its manifold 
labors. 

Sweet was the air and soft ; and slowly the smoke 
from the chimneys 

Rose over roofs of thatch, and pointed steadily east- 
ward ; 

Men came forth from the doors, and paused and 
talked of the weather, 500 

Said that the wind had changed, and was blowing fair 
for the Mayflower ; 

Talked of their Captain's departure, and all the dan- 
gers that menaced, 

He being gone, the town, and what should be done in 
his absence. 

Merrily sang the birds, and the tender voices of 
women 

Consecrated with hymns the common cares of the 
household. 505 

Out of the sea rose the sun, and the billows rejoiced 
at his coming ; 

Beautiful were his feet on the purple tops of the 
mountains ; 

Beautiful on the sails of the Mayflower riding at 
anchor, 

601 Why is the wind said to be " blowing fair for the Mayflower " ? 
507 Look up Isaiah lii. 7. 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STAN DISH 49 

Battered and blackened and worn by all the storms of 
the winter. 

Loosely against her masts was hanging and flapping 
her canvas, 510 

Kent by so many gales, and patched by the hands of 
the sailors. 

Suddenly from her side, as the sun rose over the 
ocean. 

Darted a puff of smoke, and floated seaward ; anon 
rang 

Loud over field and forest the cannon's roar, and the 
echoes 

Heard and repeated the sound, the signal-gun of de- 
parture ! 515 

Ah ! but with louder echoes replied the hearts of the 
people ! 

Meekly, in voices subdued, the chapter was read from 
the Bible, 

Meekly the prayer was begun, but ended in fervent 
entreaty ! 

Then from their houses in haste came forth the Pil- 
grims of Plymouth, 

Men and women and children, all hurrying down to the 
sea-shore, 520 

Eager, with tearful eyes, to say farewell to the May- 
flower, 

E 



50 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Homeward bound o'er the sea, and leaving them here 
in the desert. 

Foremost among them was Alden. All night he 

had lain without slumber, 
Turning and tossing about in the heat and unrest of 

his fever. 
He had beheld Miles Standish, who came back late 

from the council, 525 

Stalking into the room, and heard him mutter and 

murmur, 
Sometimes it seemed a prayer, and sometimes it sounded 

like swearing. 
Once he had come to the bed, and stood there a mo- 
ment in silence ; 
Then he had turned away, and said: ^^I will not 

awake him ; 
Let him sleep on, it is best ; for what is the use of 

more talking ! " 530 

Then he extinguished the light, and threw himself 

down on his pallet, 
Dressed as he was, and ready to start at the break of 

the morning, — 

522 Desert: is Plymouth county a desert? What would be a 
better word? See if it will fit into the line. 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 51 

Covered himself with the cloak he had worn in his 

campaigns in Flanders, — 
Slept as a soldier sleeps in his bivouac, ready for 

action. 
But with the dawn he arose ; in the twilight Alden 

beheld him 535 

Put on his corselet of steel, and all the rest of his 

armor, 
Buckle about his waist his trusty blade of Damascus, 
Take from the corner his musket, and so stride out of 

the chamber. 
Often the heart of the youth had burned and yearned 

to embrace him. 
Often his lii)S had essayed to speak, imploring for 

pardon ; 540 

All the old friendship came back with its tender and 

grateful emotions ; 
But his pride overmastered the nobler nature within 

him, — 
Pride, and the sense of his wrong, and the burning 

fire of the insult. 
So he beheld his friend departing in anger, but spake 

not, 

534 Bivouac : a soldier often has to sleep on the field of battle 
wrapped only in his cloak, ready for action at a moment's notice. 
This is called bivouacking. 



52 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES ST AN DISH 

Saw him go forth to danger, perhaps to death, and he 
spake not ! 545 

Then he arose from his bed, and heard what the peo- 
ple were saying, 

Joined in the talk at the door, with Stephen and 
Richard and Gilbert, 

Joined in the morning prayer, and in the reading of 
Scripture, 

And, with the others, in haste went hurrying down to 
the sea-shore, 

Down to the Plymouth Rock, that had been to their 
feet as a doorstep 55° 

Into a world unknown, — the corner-stone of a nation ! 

There with his boat was the Master, already a little 
impatient 

547 Stephen, Richard, Gilbert: these are first names of some of 
the colonists. 

550 Plymouth Rock : the famous rock may still be seen at 
Plymouth. Years ago when the town felt obliged to build out a 
new wharf which threatened to cover the rock, an effort was made 
to remove the cherished landmark. The u^jper part was broken off 
and is preserved at the Museum of the Pilgrim Society. The rest 
of the boulder remains in its place some paces back from the water, 
enclosed, and surmounted with a granite canopy in which are pre- 
served a few bones of the first settlers disinterred from the old 
burying lot. 

551 Why is it called the corner-stone of a nation ? 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 53 

Lest he should lose the tide, or the wind might shift 

to the eastward, 
Square-built, hearty, and strong, with an odor of ocean 

about him, 
Speaking with this one and that, and cramming letters 

and parcels 555 

Into his pockets capacious, and messages mingled to- 
gether 
Into his narrow brain, till at last he was wholly bewil- 
dered. 
Nearer the boat stood Alden, with one foot placed on 

the gunwale. 
One still firm on the rock, and talking at times with 

the sailors. 
Seated erect on the thwarts, all ready and eager for 

starting. 560 

He too was eager to go, and thus put an end to his 

anguish, 
Thinking to fly from despair, that swifter than keel is 

or canvas. 
Thinking to drown in the sea the ghost that would rise 

and pursue him. 
But as he gazed on the crowd, he beheld the form of 

Priscilla 
Standing dejected among them, unconscious of all that 

was passing. 565 



54 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Fixed were her eyes upon his, as if she divined his 

intention, 
Fixed with a look so sad, so reproachful, imploring, 

and patient. 
That with a sudden revulsion his heart recoiled from 

its purpose. 
As from the verge of a crag, where one step more is 

destruction. 
Strange is the heart of man, with its quick, mysteri- 
ous instincts ! 570 
Strange is the life of man, and fatal or fated are mo- 
ments, 
Whereupon turn, as on hinges, the gates of the wall 

adamantine ! 
" Here I remain ! " he exclaimed, as he looked at the 

heavens above him. 
Thanking the Lord whose breath had scattered the 

mist and the madness, 
Wherein, blind and Igst, to death he was staggering 

headlong. 575 

"Yonder snow-white cloud, that floats in the ether 

above me. 
Seems like a hand that is pointing, and beckoning over 

the ocean. 
There is another hand, that is not so spectral and 

ghost-like, 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 55 

Holding me, drawing me back, and clasping mine for 

protection. 
Float, hand of cloud, and vanish away in the 

ether ! 580 

Roll thyself up like a fist, to threaten and daunt me ; 

I heed not 
Either your warning or menace, or any omen of evil ! 
There is no land so sacred, no air so pure and so 

wholesome. 
As is the air she breathes, and the soil that is pressed 

by her footsteps. 
Here for her sake will I stay, and like an invisible 

presence 585 

Hover around her forever, protecting, supporting her 

weakness ; 
Yes! as my foot was the first that stepped on this 

rock at the landing, 
So, with the blessing of God, shall it be the last at the 

leaving ! " 

Meanwhile the Master alert, but with dignified air 

and important, 

Scanning with watchful eye the tide and the wind and 

the weather, 590 

Walked about on the sands, and the people crowded 

'around him 



56 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES ST AN DISH 

Saying a few last words, and enforcing his careful re- 
membrance. 
Then, taking each by the hand, as if he were grasping 

a tiller, 
Into the boat he sprang, and in haste shoved off to his 

vessel, 594 

Glad in his heart to get rid of all this worry and flurry, 
Glad to be gone from a land of sand and sickness and 

sorrow, 
Short allowance of victual, and plenty of nothing but 

Gospel ! 
Lost in the sound of the oars was the last farewell of 

the Pilgrims. 
O strong hearts and true ! not one went back in the 

Mayflower ! 
No, not one looked back, who. had set his hand to this 

ploughing ! 600 

Soon were heard on board the shouts and songs of 
the sailors 

Heaving the windlass round, and hoisting the ponder- 
ous anchor. 

Then the yards were braced, and all sails set to the 
west-wind. 

Blowing steady and strong ; and the Mayflower sailed 
from the harbor, 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 57 

Eounded the point of the Gurnet, and leaving far to 

the southward 605 

Island and cape of sand, and the Field of the First 

Encounter, 
Took the wind on her quarter, and stood for the open 

Atlantic, 
Borne on the send of the sea, and the swelling hearts 

of the Pilgrims. 

Long in silence they watched the receding sail of 
the vessel. 

Much endeared to them all, as something living and 
human ; 610 

Then, as if filled with the spirit, and wrapt in a vis- 
ion prophetic. 

Baring his hoary head, the excellent Elder of Plym- 
outh 

Said, " Let us pray ! " and they prayed, and thanked 
the Lord and took courage. 

605 Gurnet : a sandy spit of land enclosing the northern part of 
Plymouth Bay. It was named from a similar cape in England. 

606 Island : Clark Island in Plymouth Bay. 
Cape of sand: it probably means Cape Cod. 

Field of the First Encounter : the place on Cape Cod where they 
had their first strife with the Indians. See the sketch of the Pilgrims 
in the preface. 

611 Filled with the spirit : look up Ephesians v. 18. 



58 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Mournfully sobbed the waves at the base of the rock, 

and above them 
Bowed and whispered the wheat on the hill of death, 

and their kindred 615 

Seemed to awake in their graves, and to join in the 

prayer that they uttered. 
Sun-illumined and white, on the eastern verge of the 

ocean 
Gleamed the departing sail, like a marble slab in a 

graveyard ; 
Buried beneath it lay forever all hope of escaping. 
Lo ! as they turned to depart, they saw the form of an 

Indian, 620 

Watching them from the hill ; but while they spake 

with each other. 
Pointing with outstretched hands, and saying, 

" Look ! " he had vanished. 
So they returned to their homes ; but Alden lingered 

a little. 
Musing alone on the shore, and watching the wash of 

the billows 
Eound the base of the rock, and the sparkle and flash 

of the sunshine, 625 

Like the spirit of God, moving visibly over the 

waters. 

626 Spirit of God : look up Genesis i. 2. 



■ THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STAND ISH 59 

VI 

PRISCILLA 

Thus for a while he stood, and mused by the shore 
of the ocean, 

Thinking of many things, and most of all of Pris- 
cilla ; 

And as if thought had the power to draw to itself, like 
the loadstone, 

Whatsoever it touches, by subtile laws of its na- 
ture, 630 

Lo ! as he turned to depart, Priscilla was standing 
beside him. 

" Are you so much offended, you will not speak to 
me ? " said she. 
"Am I so much to blame, that yesterday, when you 
were pleading 

629 Loadstone : sometimes spelled lodestone, and also called a 
magnet. It is a piece of iron ore which is capable oi attracting 
other pieces of iron. It was put to its most famous use after it was 
learned that a needle made of it and suspended so that it could 
move freely, pointed steadily to the north. From this was con- 
structed the mariner's compass, by the use of which sailors may 
direct the course of their ship out of sight of land. Thus the mod- 
ern art of navigation was made possible. 



60 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES ST AN DISH 

Warmly the cause of another, my heart, impulsive 
and wayward, 

Pleaded your own, and spake out, forgetful perhaps of 
decorum ? 635 

Certainly you can forgive me for speaking so frankly, 
for saying 

What I ought not to have said, yet now I can never 
unsay it ; 

For there are moments in life, when the heart is so 
full of emotion, 

That if by chance it be shaken, or into its depths like 
a pebble 

Drops some careless word, it overflows, and its se- 
cret, 640 

Spilt on the ground like water, can never be gathered 
together. 

Yesterday I was shocked, when I heard you speak of 
Miles Standish, 

Praising his virtues, transforming his very defects into 
virtues. 

Praising his courage and strength, and even his fight- 
ing in Flanders, 

As if by fighting alone you could win the heart of a 
woman, 645 

641 Spilt on the ground like water : look up II Samuel xiv. 14. 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 61 

Quite overlooking yourself and the rest, in exalting 
your hero. 

Therefore I spake as I did, by an irresistible im- 
pulse. 

You will forgive me, I hope, for the sake of the friend- 
ship between us. 

Which is too true and too sacred to be so easily 
broken ! " 

Thereupon answered John Alden, the scholar, the 
friend of Miles Standish : 650 

"I was not angry with you, with myself alone I was 
angry. 

Seeing how badly I managed the matter I had in my 
keeping." 

" No ! " interrupted the maiden, with ansAver prompt 
and decisive ; 

"No; you were angry with me, for speaking so 
frankly and freely. 

It was wrong, I acknowledge ; for it is the fate of a 
woman 655 

Long to be patient and silent, to wait like a ghost that 
is speechless. 

Till some questioning voice dissolves the spell of its 
silence. 

65&-657 The tradition is that a ghost cannot address any one until 
it is spoken to. 



62 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Hence is the inner life of so many suffering 
women 

Sunless and silent and deep, like subterranean rivers 

Running through caverns of darkness, unheard, un- 
seen, and unfruitful, 660 

Chafing their channels of stone, with endless and prof- 
itless murmurs." 

Thereupon answered John Alden, the young man, the 
lover of women : 

" Heaven forbid it, Priscilla ; and truly they seem to 
me always 

More like the beautiful rivers that watered the garden 
of Eden, 

More like the river Euphrates, through deserts of 
Havilah flowing, 665 

Eilling the land with delight, and memories sweet of 
the garden ! " 

" Ah, by these words, I can see," again interrupted the 
maiden, 

664 Rivers of Eden : look up Genesis ii. 10-14. From these rivers, 
where is the Garden of Eden supposed to have been located ? 

665 Havilah : names are often duplicated in Bible history. For 
instance, there are two Ji^thiopias, one lying about the southern 
portion of the Caspian Sea and one in Africa. So, too, there was 
one Havilah directly east of Egypt on the coast of the Mediterra- 
nean, and another, as the text shows, along the course of the 
Euphrates River. 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISII 63 

"How very little you prize me, or care for what I 

am saying. 
When from the depths of my heart, in pain and with 

secret misgiving, 
Frankly I speak to you, asking for sympathy only and 

kindness, 670 

Straightway you take up my words, that are plain and 

direct and in earnest, 
Turn them av/ay from their meaning, and answer with 

flattering phrases. 
This is not right, is not just, is not true to the best 

that is in you ; 
For I know and esteem you, and feel that your nature 

is noble. 
Lifting mine up to a higher, a more ethereal 

level. 675 

Therefore I value your friendship, and feel it perhaps 

the more keenly 
If you say aught that implies I am only as one among 

many, 
If you make use of those common and complimentary 

phrases 
Most men think so fine, in dealing and speaking with 

women. 
But which women reject as insipid, if not as insult- 
ing." 680 



64 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Mute g^nd amazed was Alden ; and listened and 
looked at Priscilla, 

Thinking he never had seen her more fair, more di- 
vine in her beauty. 

He who but yesterday pleaded so glibly the cause of 
another, 

Stood there embarrassed and silent, and seeking in 
vain for an answer. 

So the maiden went on, and little divined or im- 
agined 685 

What was at work in his heart, that made him so 
awkward and speechless. 

"Let us, then, be what we are, and speak what we 
think, and in all things 

Keep ourselves loyal to truth, and the sacred profes- 
sions of friendship. 

It is no secret I tell you, nor am I ashamed to declare 
it: 

I have liked to be with you, to see you, to speak with 
you always. 690 

So I was hurt at your words, and a little affronted to 
hear you 

Urge me to marry your friend, though he were the 
Captain Miles Standish. 

^or I must tell you the truth : much more to me is 
your friendship 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES ST AN DISH 65 

Than all the love he could give, were he twice the 

hero you think him." 
Then she extended her hand, and Alden, who eagerly 

grasped it, 695 

Felt all the wounds in his heart, that were aching and 

bleeding so sorely. 
Healed by the touch of that hand, and he said, with 

a voice full of feeling : 
" Yes, we must ever be friends 5 and of all who offer 

you friendship 
Let me be ever the first, the truest, the nearest and 

dearest ! " 

Casting a farewell look at the glimmering sail of the 
Mayflower 700 

Distant, but still in sight, and sinking below the horizon. 

Homeward together they walked, with a strange, in- 
definite feeling, 

That all the rest had departed and left them alone in 
the desert. 

But, as they went through the fields in the blessing and 
smile of the sunshine. 

Lighter grew their hearts, and Priscilla said very 
archly ; 705 

" Now that our terrible Captain has gone in pursuit 
of the Indians, 



66 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISII 

Where he is happier far than he would be commanding 
a household, 

You may speak boldly, and tell me of all that hap- 
pened between you. 

When you returned last night, and said how ungrate- 
ful you found me." 

Thereupon answered John Alden, and told her the 
whole of the story, — 710 

Told her his own despair, and the direful wrath of 
Miles Standish. 

Whereat the maiden smiled, and said between laugh- 
ing and earnest, 

" He is a little chimney, and heated hot in a moment ! " 

But as he gently rebuked her, and told her how he 
had suffered, — 

How he had even determined to sail that day in the 
Mayflower, 715 

And had remained for her sake, on hearing the dan- 
gers that threatened, — 

All her manner was changed, and she said with a fal- 
tering accent, 

"Truly I thank you for this: how good you have 
been to me always ! " 

Thus, as a pilgrim devout; who toward Jerusalem 
journey Sj 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 67 

Taking three steps in advance, and one reluctantly 
backward, 720 

Urged by importunate zeal, and withheld by j^angs of 
contrition ; 

Slowly but steadily onward, receding yet ever advanc- 
ing, 

Journeyed this Puritan youth to the Holy Land of 
his longings, 

Urged by the fervor of love, and withheld by remorse- 
ful misgivings. 

VII 

THE MARCH OF MILES STANDISH 

Meanwhile the stalwart Miles Standish was marching 
steadily northward, 725 

719-724 Give in your own words the meaning of this paragraph. 

'23 Holy Land : what is its geographical name ? Where is it ? 
Why was it called the Holy Land ? 

725 Northward : this was an expedition against the Indians which 
Miles Standish undertook in 1623 instead of 1621. But it suits the 
story better to hring it in here. A friend of the Pilgrims in London, 
a Mr. Weston, had sent out a colony of his own which settled at 
about the present location of Weymouth. This colony was not 
composed of very sensible men, and they were faring badly at the 
hands of their Lidian neighbors. Out of friendship for the founder 
of the colony, the Pilgrims sent Standish and his little band to their 
assistance. Eventually, a few of Weston's men joined the Pilgrims, 
and the rest found their way back to England. 



68 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES ST AN DISH 

Winding through forest and swamp, and along the 

trend of the sea-shore, 
All day long, with hardly a halt, the fire of his anger 
Burning and crackling within, and the sulphurous 

odor of powder 
Seeming more sweet to his nostrils than all the scents 

of the forest. 
Silent and moody he went, and much he revolved his 

discomfort ; 730 

He who was used to success, and to easy victories 

always. 
Thus to be flouted, rejected, and laughed to scorn by 

a maiden, 
Thus to be mocked and betrayed by the friend whom 

most he had trusted ! 
Ah ! 'twas too much to be borne, and he fretted and 

chafed in his armor ! 

" I alone am to blame," he muttered, " for mine was 

the folly. 735 

What has a rough old soldier, grown grim and gray 

in the harness, 
Used to the camp and its ways, to do with the wooing 

of maidens ? 
'Twas but a dream, — let it pass, — let it vanish like 

so many others ! 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 69 

What I thought was a flower, is only a weed, and is 
worthless ; 

Out of my heart will I pluck it, and throw it away, 
and henceforward 740 

Be but a fighter of battles, a lover and wooer of dan- 
gers." 

Thus he revolved in his mind his sorry defeat and dis- 
comfort. 

While he was ma-rching by day or lying at night in 
the forest, 

Looking up at the trees and the constellations beyond 
them. 

After a three days' march he came to an Indian 
encampment 745 

Pitched on the edge of a meadow, between the sea and 
the forest ; 

Women at work by the tents, and warriors, horrid 
with war-paint. 

Seated about a fire, and smoking and talking to- 
gether ; 

Who, when they saw from afar the sudden approach 
of the white men, 

748 Who was the Englishman credited with taking this custom to 
England ? 



70 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES ST AN DISH 

Saw the flash of the sun on breastplate and sabre and 

musket, 750 

Straightway lea^Ded to their feet, and two, from among 

them advancing, 
Came to parley with Standish, and offer him furs as 

a present : 
Friendship was in their looks, but in their hearts there 

was hatred. 
Braves of the tribe were these, and brothers, gigantic 

in stature, 
Huge as Goliath of Gath, or the terrible Og, king of 

Bashan ; 755 

One was Pecksuot named, and the other was called 

Wattawamat. 

''52 Furs : from time immemorial, furs have been one of the 
choicest articles of commerce, vying in value with gold and gems. 
Kings and emperors have desired them for gifts and costly court 
garments. Make out as long a list as you can of the animals whose 
fur is valuable, and tell which of these are found in America. 
Where do Americans get seals? Name a people in America whose 
clothing consists mainly of furs. Siberia is valued by Russia for 
its fur-bearing animals; the fur trade caused France to settle Can- 
ada, and was concerned in the settlement of New England, New 
York, and Virginia. Name a port on the west coast of the United 
States which was founded expressly for the fur trade. What great 
fur-trading company do the British maintain in British America ? 

''ss Goliath of Gath: look up I Samuel xvii. 4-7. Og, king of 
Bashan: look up Deuteronomy iii. 1 and 11. 

756 Pronounce the Indian names by scanning the line. 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 71 

Round their necks were suspended their knives in 

scabbards of wampum, 
Two-edged, trenchant knives, with points as sharp as 

a needle. 
Other arms had they none, for they were cunning and 

crafty. 
" Welcome, English ! " they said, — these words they 

had learned from the traders 760 

Touching at times on the coast, to barter and chaffer 

for peltries. 
Then in their native tongue they began to parley with 

Standish, 
Through his guide and interpreter, Hobomok, friend 

of the white man. 
Begging for blankets and knives, but mostly for mus- 
kets and powder. 
Kept by the white man, they said, concealed, with the 

plague, in his cellars, 765 

Ready to be let loose, and destroy his brother the red 

man ! 

"60 Traders : these would either come down the coast from the fish- 
ing at Monhegan on the Maine coast, or up from the Virginia colony. 

765, 766 Plague : Squanto, the Indian friendly to the Pilgrims, had 
sought to increase his importance among the neighboring tribes by 
telling them that the Pilgrims kept the plague in their cellars, and 
that he covild get them to send it out if he chose. 



72 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

But when Standish refused, and said lie would give 

them the Bible, 
Suddenly changing their tone, they began to boast and 

to bluster. 
Then Wattawamat advanced with a stride in front of 

the other, 
And, with a lofty demeanor, thus vauntingly spake to 

the Captain : 770 

'' Now Wattawamat can see, by the fiery eyes of the 

Captain, 
Angry is he in his heart ; but the heart of the brave 

Wattawamat 
Is not afraid at the sight. He was not born of a 

woman. 
But on a mountain, at night, from an oak-tree riven 

by lightning, 
Forth he sprang at a bound, with all his weapons 

about him, 775 

Shouting, ' Who is there here to light with the brave 

W^attawamat ? ' " 
Then he unsheathed his knife, and, whetting the blade 

on his left hand. 
Held it aloft and displayed a woman's face on the 

handle. 
Saying, with bitter expression and look of sinister 

meaning : 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 73 

"^ I have another at home, with the face of a man on 
the handle ; 780 

By and by they shall marry ; and there will be plenty 
of children ! " 

Then stood Pecksuot forth, self-vaunting, insulting 

Miles Standish; 
While with his fingers he patted the knife that hung 

at his bosom, 
Drawing it half from its sheath, and plunging it back, 

as he muttered, 
" By and by it shall see ; it shall eat ; ah, ha ! but 

shall speak not ! 785 

This is the mighty Captain the white men have sent 

to destroy us ! 
He is a little man ; let him go and work with the 

women ! *' 

Meanwhile Standish had noted the faces and figures 
of Indians 

'"8" The Indian braves were generally large of stature. Standish 
was short. They considered women inferior. Furthermore, they 
did no work except perhaps to pick the leaves of the tobacco. All 
the planting and hoeing of the corn, the grinding of the meal, the 
cooking, and the carrying of burdens were done by the women. 
So there is a triple insult intended by the speech of Pecksuot; that 
is, that the Captain was little, that he was no better than a woman, 
and that he might go and work. 



74 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Peeping and creeping about from bush to tree in the 

forest, 
Feigning to look for game, with arrows set on their 

bow-strings, 79° 

Drawing about him still closer and closer the net of 

their ambush. 
But undaunted he stood, and dissembled and treated 

them smoothly; 
So the old chronicles say, that were writ in the days 

of the fathers. 
But when he heard their defiance, the boast, the taunt 

and the insult, 
All the hot blood of his race, of Sir Hugh and of 

Thurston de Stand ish, 795 

Boiled and beat in his heart, and swelled in the veins 

of his temples. 
Headlong he leaped on the boaster, and, snatching his 

knife from its scabbard, 
Plunged it into his heart, and, reeling backward, the 

savage 
Pell with his face to the sky, and a fiendlike fierceness 

upon it. 
Straight there arose from the forest the awful sound 

of the war-whoop, Soo 

And, like a flurry of snow on the whistling wind of 

December, 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 75 

Swift and sudden and keen came a fiiglit of feathery 

arrows. 
Then came a cloud of smoke, and out of the cloud 

came the lightning, 
Out of the lightning thunder; and death unseen ran 

before it. 
Frightened the savages fled for shelter in swamp and 

in thicket, 805 

Hotly pursued and beset ; but their sachem, the brave 

Wattawamat, 
Fled not ; he was dead. Unswerving and swift had 

a bullet 
Passed through his brain, and he fell with both hands 

clutching the greensward, 
Seeming in death to hold back from his foe the land 

of his fathers. 

There on the flowers of the meadow the warriors 
lay, and above them, 8to 

Silent, with folded arms, stood Hobomok, friend of 
the white man. 

803, 804 What is the meaning of these lines ? This was the only- 
actual battle which the Pilgrims fought with the Indians for over 
half a century. 

809 It is possible that even at this early day the Indians had 
decided that the white men were come to deprive them of their 
land. It became their fixed idea in later times. 



76 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Smiling at length lie exclaimed to the stalwart Captain 

of Plymouth : 
"Pecksuot bragged very loud, of his courage, his 

strength and his stature, — 
Mocked the great Captain, and called him a little 

man ; but I see now 
Big enough have you been to lay him speechless before 

you!" 815 

Thus the first battle was fought and won by the 
stalwart Miles Standish. 

When the tidings thereof were brought to the village 
of Plymouth, 

And as a trophy of war the head of the brave Wat- 
taw am at 

Scowled from the roof of the fort, which at once was 
a church and a fortress, 

All who beheld it rejoiced, and praised the Lord, and 
took courasre. 820 



818, 819 Trophy of war : this would be thought a horrible thing to 
do now, but the English people were then so used to it that it did 
not shock them. Much later than this, in 1660, when Charles II 
was restored to the throne, the body of the great Cromwell was 
torn out of its grave and hung on a gibbet. 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES ST AN DISH 11 

Only Priscilla averted her face from this spectre of 
terror, 

Thanking God in her heart that she had not married 
Miles Standish ; 

Shrinking, fearing almost, lest, coming home from his 
battles. 

He should lay claim to her hand, as the prize and re- 
ward of his valor. 

VIII 

THE SPINNING-WHEEL 

Month after month passed away, and in autumn the 
ships of the merchants 825 

Came with kindred and friends, with cattle and corn 
for the Pilgrims. 

"825 Ships: the Anne and the Little James which really came in 
1G23. 

S26 Cattle : no cattle came to the colony till 1624, though the Pil- 
grims had dogs, swine, and poultry. It was necessary that cattle 
should be brought as soon as possible. The lack of domestic ani- 
mals was one reason why the Indians did not attain to a higher 
civilization. How did the original inhabitants of America, happen 
to be called Indians? How do you suppose they came to be in 
America ? Look at the map and see if they could have come from 
Asia? How do domestic animals help to civilize? 

Corn: this must mean wheat or oats, etc. They would not be 
likely to obtain Indian corn from England. Before the discovery 
of America, the word "corn " meant any kind of grain. 



78 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

All in the village was peace ; the men were intent on 
their labors, 

Busy with hewing and building, with garden-plot and 
with merestead. 

Busy with breaking the glebe, and mowing the grass 
in the meadows. 

Searching the sea for its fish, and hunting the deer in 
the forest. 830 

All in the village was peace ; but at times the rumor 
of warfare 

Filled the air with alarm, and the apprehension of 
danger. 

Bravely the stalwart Standish was scouring the land 
with his forces, 

Waxing valiant in fight and defeating the alien ar- 
mies. 

Till his name had become a sound of fear to the 
nations. 835 

Anger was still in his heart, but at times the remorse 
and contrition 

Which in all noble natures succeed the passionate out- 
break, 

Came like a rising tide, that encounters the rush of a 
river, 

835 Nations : name two great Indian nations which at that time 
held the eastern part of America. 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 79 

Staying its current awhile, but making it bitter and 
brackish. 



Meanwhile Alden at home had built him a new 
habitation, 840 

Solid, substantial, of timber rough-hewn from the firs 
of the forest. 

Wooden-barred was the door, and the roof was covered 
with rushes ; 

Latticed the windows were, and the window-panes were 
of paper, 

Oiled to admit the light, while wind and rain were ex- 
cluded. 

There too he dug a well, and around it planted an 
orchard : 845 



838, 839 Such rivers are called tide-rivers. The Saint Lawrence 
is a tide-river up above Quebec. 

S43 Describe lattice Maudows. 

Window-panes : the art of making window glass was known in 
England long before that, but it came into use very slowly, and glass 
windows were considered a great luxury which only the very rich 
could afford. Usually the lattice framework of windows was 
filled with paper which was treated with linseed oil. This allowed 
the light to shine through, but prevented the rain from soaking 
the paper. 



80 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Still may be seen to this clay some trace of the well 
and the orchard. 

Close to the house was the stall, where, safe and 
secure from annoyance, 

Raghorn, the snow-white bull, that had fallen to 
Alden's allotment 

In the division of cattle, might ruminate in the night- 
time 

Over the pastures he cropped, made fragrant by sweet 
pennyroyal. 

Oft when his labor was finished, with eager feet 

would the dreamer 
Follow the pathway that ran through the woods to the 

house of Priscilla, 
Led by illusions romantic and subtile deceptions of 

fancy, 
Pleasure disguised as duty, and love in the semblance 

of friendship. 
Ever of her he thought, when he fashioned the walls 

of his dwelling; 855 

Ever of her he thought, when he delved in the soil of 

his garden ; 

846 The descendants of John Alden still own his old homestead in 
Duxbury, a neighboring town to Plymouth. The present house is 
supposed to occupy the site of the first one. 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES ST AND IS H 81 

Ever of her he thought, when he read in his Bible on 

Sunday 
Praise of the virtuous woman, as she is described in 

the Proverbs, — 
How the heart of her husband doth safely trust in her 

always. 
How all the days of her life she will do him good, and 

not evil, 860 

How she seeketh the wool and the flax and worketh 

with gladness. 
How she layeth her hand to the spindle and holdeth 

the distaff, 
How she is not afraid of the snow for herself or her 

household. 
Knowing her household are clothed with the scarlet 

cloth of her weaving ! 

So as she sat at \qy wheel one afternoon in the 
Autumn, 865 

Alden, who opposite sat, and was watching her dexter- 
ous fingers. 

As if the thread she was spinning were that of his life 
and his fortune, 

858 Look up Proverbs xxxi. 10-28. 

807 Thread : the old legend was that the three Fates spun out the 
thread of each one's life and cut it off where they pleased. A very 

G 



82 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

After a pause in their talk, tlms spake to the sound of 

the spindle. 
" Truly, Priscilla," he said, " when I see you spinning 

and spinning, 
Never idle a moment, but thrifty and thoughtful of 

others, 870 

Suddenly you are transformed, are visibly changed in. 

a moment ; 
You are no longer Priscilla, but Bertha the Beautiful 

Spinner.'^ 
Here the light foot on the treadle grew swifter and 

swifter; the spindle 
Uttered an angry snarl, and the thread snapped short 

in her fingers ; 
While the impetuous speaker, not heeding the mis- 
chief, continued : 875 
" You are the beautiful Bertha, the spinner, the queen 

of Helvetia; 
She whose story I read at a stall in the streets of 

Southampton, 

famous picture represents the three Fates, Clotho spinning, Lache- 
sis drawing out the thread, and Atropos cutting it off. 

Si's Helvetia : soutliern Burgundy, which used to include a part of 
Switzerland. Bertha was the wife of Rudolph II of Burgundy, and 
was famous for her domestic virtues. On the monuments of the 
time she is represented spinning. 

877 Southampton : locate on the map. 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 83 

Who, as she rode on her palfrey, o'er valley and 

meadow and mountain, 
Ever was spinning her thread from a distaff fixed to 

her saddle. 
She was so thrifty and good, that her name passed 

into a proverb. 880 

So shall it be with your own, when the spinning-wheel 

shall no longer 
Hum in the house of the farmer, and fill its chambers 

with music. 
Then shall the mothers, reproving, relate how it was 

in their childhood. 
Praising the good okl times, and the days of Priscilla 

the spinner ! " 
Straight uprose from her wheel the beautiful Puritan 

maiden, 885 

879 Spinning: the primitive method of spinning, which may he 
seen to-day in Greece, as Homer descrihed it, is as follows: a bunch 
of wool is stuck on a short staff called the distaff. Then there is a 
small rod or stick with a notch in it and slightly weighted. A tuft 
of wool is fastened in this notch, and the weight of the stick or 
spindle hanging down serves to draw out the tuft so that the 
fingers by running up and down it can twist it into a uniform 
thread of yarn. When the thread becomes too long, it is wound 
up on the spindle and the process continues. 

881-884 xhe inventions which took spinning out of the homes into 
the factories were patented from 1770-1775. Would John Alden 
have been likely to make such a prophecy? 



84 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Pleased with the praise of her thrift from him whose 

praise was the sweetest, 
Drew from the reel on the table a snowy skein of her 

spinning, 
Thns making answer, meanwhile, to the flattering 

phrases of Alclen: 
" Come, yon mnst not be idle ; if I am a pattern for 

housewives, 
Show yourself equally worthy of being the model of 

husbands. 890 

Hold this skein on your hands, while I wind it, ready 

for knitting ; 
Then who knows but hereafter, when fashions have 

changed and the manners. 
Fathers may talk to their sons of the good old times 

of John Alden ! " 
Thus, with a jest and a laugh, the skein on his hands 

she adjusted, 
He sitting awkwardly there, with his arms extended 

before him, 895 

She standing graceful, erect, and winding the thread 

from his fingers. 
Sometimes chiding a little his clumsy manner of hold- 
ing, 
Sometimes touching his hands, as she disentangled 

expertly 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 85 

Twist or knot in the yarn, unawares — for how could 

she lielp it ? — 
Sending electrical thrills through every nerve in his 

body. 900 



Lo ! in the midst of this scene, a breathless messen- 
ger entered, 

Bringing in hurry and heat the terrible news from the 
village. 

Yes; Miles Standish was dead! — an Indian had 
brought them the tidings, — 

Slain by a poisoned arrow, shot down in the front of 
the battle. 

Into an ambush beguiled, cut off with the whole of 
his forces; 905 

All the town would be burned, and all the people be 
murdered ! 

Such were the tidings of evil that burst on the hearts 
of the hearers. 

Silent and statue-like stood Priscilla, her face looking 
backward 

Still at the face of the speaker, her arms uplifted in 
horror ; 

But John Alden, upstarting, as if the barb of the ar- 
row 910 



86 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Piercing the heart of his friend had struck his own, 

and had sundered 
Once and forever the bonds that held him bound as a 

captive, 
Wild with excess of sensation, the awful delight of 

his freedom, 
Mingled with pain and regret, unconscious of what he 

was doing, 
Clasped, almost with a groan, the motionless form of 

Priscilla, 915 

Pressing her close to his heart, as forever his own, 

and exclaiming : 
" Those whom the Lord hath united, let no man put 

them asunder ! " 

Even as rivulets twain, from distant and separate 

sources. 
Seeing each other afar, as they leap from the rocks, 

and pursuing 
Each one its devious path, but drawing nearer and 

nearer, 920 

Kush together at last, at their trysting-place in the 

forest ; 
So these lives that had run thus far in separate channels, 

911-915 Explain in your own words these sensations of John Alden. 
917 Look up Mark x. 6-9. 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 87 

Coming in sight of each other, then swerving and 

flowing asunder, 
Parted by barriers strong, but drawing nearer and 

nearer, 
Eushed together at last, and one was lost in the 

other. 925 



IX 



THE WEDDING-DAY 

Forth from the curtain of clouds, from the tent of 
p'urple and scarlet. 

Issued the sun,- the great High-Priest, in his garments 
resplendent. 

Holiness unto the Lord, in letters of light, on his fore- 
head. 

Round the hem of his robe the golden bells and pome- 
granates. 

Blessing the world he came, and the bars of vapor 
beneath him 930 

Gleamed like a grate of brass, and the sea at his feet 
was a laver ! 

924 What were the " barriers strong " ? 

927-929 For a partial description of the garments of a Jewish 
High-Priest, lookup Exodus xxviii. 31-38. 
931 Laver : look up Exodus xxx. 17-19. 



88 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES ST AN DISH 

This was the Avedding morn of Priscilla the Puri- 
tan maiden. 

Friends were assembled together ; the Elder and 
Magistrate also 

Graced the scene with their presence, and stood like 
the Law and the Gospel, 

One with the sanction of earth and one with the bless- 
ing of heaven. 935 

Simple and brief was the wedding as that of Ruth 
and of Boaz. 

Softly the youth and the maiden repeated the words 
of betrothal. 

Taking each other for husband and wife in the Magis- 
trate's presence, 

After the Puritan way, and the laudable custom of 
Holland. 

Fervently then and devoutly, the excellent Elder of 
Plymouth 940 

932 Wedding morn : this was probably the second marriage which 
took place in the colony, 

934 Law and the Gospel : are both represented in a marriage 
ceremony of to-day? Which is represented by the marriage 
license? By the marriage certificate? Why must the law be 
represented? Why the Gospel? (See reference on line 917.) 

936 You will find the story of Ruth in Ruth i. 1-8 and 16-18, ii. 
1-2 and 15-16. Boaz, her kinsman, was quickly charmed with 
Rutfi and made her his wife. 



L.o»t 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 89 

Prayed for the hearth and the home, that were founded 

that day in affection, 
Speaking of life and of death, and imploring Divine 

benedictions. 

Lo! when the service was ended, a form appeared 
on the threshold. 

Clad in armor of steel, a sombre and sorrowful 
figure ! 

Why does the bridegroom start and stare at the 
strange apparition ? 945 

Why does the bride turn pale, and hide her face on 
his shoulder ? 

Is it a phantom of air, — a bodiless, spectral illu- 
sion ? 

Is it a ghost from the grave, that has come to forbid 
the betrothal ? 

Long had it stood there unseen, a guest uninvited, un- 
welcomed; 

Over its clouded eyes there had passed at times an ex- 
pression 950 

941, 942 It is evident that the magistrate performed what we call 
the wedding ceremony and the minister offered the prayer after- 
ward. With us to-day, the magistrate is not usually present, the 
minister having charge of the whole ceremony. Are marriages 
ever performed without the minister? 



i\ 



90 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Softening the gloom and revealing the warm heart 
hidden beneath them, 

As when across the sky the driving rack of the rain 
cloud 

Grows for a moment thin, and betrays the sun by its 
brightness. 

Once it had lifted its hand, and moved its lips, but 
was silent. 

As if an iron will had mastered the fleeting inten- 
tion 955 

But when were ended the troth and the prayer and 
the last benediction. 

Into the room it strode, and the people beheld with 
amazement 

Bodily there in his armor Miles Standish, the Captain 
of Plymouth ! 

Grasping the bridegroom's hand, he said with emotion, 
" Forgive me ! 

I have been angry and hurt, — too long have I cher- 
ished the feeling ; 960 

I have been cruel and hard, but now, thank God ! it 
is ended. 

Mine is the same hot blood that leaped in the veins of 
Hugh Standish, 

955 What was probably the ' * fleeting intention ' ' ? (See line 948 of 
the text.) 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES ST AN DISH 91 

Sensitive, swift to resent, but as swift in atoning for error. 

Never so much as now was Miles Standisli the friend 
of John Aklen." 

Thereupon answered the bridegroom : " Let all be 
forgotten between us, — 965 

All save the dear old friendship, and that shall grow 
older and dearer ! " 

Then the Captain advanced, and, bowing, saluted Pris- 
cilla. 

Gravely, and after the manner of old-fashioned gentry 
in England, 

Something of camp and of court, of town and of coun- 
try, commingled. 

Wishing her joy of her wedding, and loudly lauding 
her husband. 970 

Then he said with a smile : " I should have remem- 
bered the adage, — 

If you would be well served, you must serve yourself ; 
and moreover, 

No man can gather cherries in Kent at the season of 
Christmas ! '' 

Great was the people's amazement, and greater yet 
their rejoicing, 

^"3 Give in your own words the meaning of the adage as applied 
to this situation. Where is Kent ? 



92 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 

Thus to behold once more the sunburnt face of their 
Captain, 975 

Whom they had mourned as dead; and they gathered 
and crowded about him, 

Eager to see him and hear him, forgetful of bride and 
of bridegroom, 

Questioning, answering, laughing, and each interrupt- 
ing the other. 

Till the good Captain declared, being quite overpow- 
ered and bewildered. 

He had rather by far break into an Indian encamp- 
ment, 980 

Than come again to a wedding to which he had not 
been invited. 

Meanwhile the bridegroom went forth and stood with 
the bride at the doorway. 

Breathing the perfumed air of that warm and beauti- 
ful morning. 

Touched with autumnal tints, but lonely and sad in 
the sunshine. 

Lay extended before them the land of toil and privation ; 

There were the graves of the dead, and the barren 
waste of the sea-shore, 986 

There the familiar fields, the groves of pine, and the 
meadows ; 



THE COURTS Hir OF MILES STAN DISH 93 

But to their eyes transfigured, it seemed as the Gar- 
den of Eden, 

Filled with the presence of God, whose voice was the 
sound of the ocean. 

Soon was their vision disturbed by the noise and 

stir of departure, 990 

Friends coming forth from the house, and impatient 

of longer delaying, 
Each with his plan for the day, and the work that was 

left uncompleted. 
Then from a stall near at hand, amid exclamations of 

wonder, 
Alden the thoughtful, the careful, so happy, so proud 

of Priscilla, 
Brought out his snow-white bull, obeying the hand of 

its master, 995 

Led by a cord that was tied to an iron ring in its nostrils. 
Covered with crimson cloth, and a cushion placed for 

a saddle. 
She should not w^alk, he said, through the dust and 

heat of the noonday ; 
Nay, she should ride like a queen, not plod along like 

a peasant. 
Somewhat alarmed at first, but reassured by the 

others, 1000 



94 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES ST AN DISH 

Placing her hand on the cushion^ her foot in the hand 
of her husband, 

Gayly, with joyous laugh, Priscilla mounted her pal- 
frey. 

" Nothing is wanting now," he said with a smile, " but 
the distaff ; 

Then you would be in truth my queen, my beautiful 
Bertha ! " 



Onward the bridal procession now moved to, their 
new habitation, 1005 

Happy husband and wife, and friends conversing to- 
gether. 

Pleasantly murmured the brook, as they crossed the 
ford in the forest, 

Pleased with the image that passed, like a dream of 
love from its bosom. 

Tremulous-floating in air, o'er the depths of the 
azure abysses. 

Down through the golden leaves the sun was pouring 
his splendors, loio 

Gleaming on purple grapes, that, from branches above 
them suspended. 

Mingled their odorous breath with the balm of the 
pine and the fir-tree, 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 95 

Wild and sweet as the clusters that grew in the valley 
of Eschol. 

Like a picture it seemed of the primitive, pastoral 
ages, 

Fresh with the youth of the world, and recalling Re- 
becca and Isaac, 1015 

Old and yet ever new, and simple and beautiful 
always. 

Love immortal and young in the endless succession of 
lovers. 

So through the Plymouth woods passed onward the 
bridal procession. 

1013 Eschol : look up Numbers xiii. 23 and 24. 

1015 Find the story in Genesis xxiv. 

It will perhaps be pleasant to know that Captain Miles Standish 
was not permanently saddened by Priscilla's refusal of him. In 
the Anne, which arrived at Plymouth in August of 1623, there 
came a maiden by the name of Barbara, whom the doughty Cap- 
tain wooed and won. Thereupon he built himself a home at a short 
distance from Plymouth and called the region Duxbury,, after one 
of the ancestral homes of his family. There at the foot of Cap- 
tain's Hill he lived for the rest of his life. He left six children 
who have numerous descendants. The tall shaft erecled on Cap- 
tain's Hill to his memory is a prominent object in the landscape 
for miles around. 

There is a fitting monument erected to the Pilgrims at Plym- 
outh. 



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